THURSDAY 9TH JULY 2020

Low Passengers’ Turnout as Flight Operations Resume Airlines record 94% compliance with COVID-19 protocols, says NCAA Chinedu Eze in Lagos and Kasim Sumaina in Abuja The resumption of scheduled domestic flight operations yesterday was marked by

low turnout of passengers.

However, as domestic airline operators returned to the skies, the Director-General, Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Captain Musa Nuhu,

has said most airlines have so far recorded 94 per cent compliance with the federal government’s protocols and guidelines on COVID-19.

The flight restart was kicked

off by Arik Air, which recorded the first flight from Lagos to Abuja, three months and 14 days after the nation’s air space was closed for scheduled passenger service due to the

onset of COVID-19.

At the average fare of N29,000 per passenger for economy class, spokesman of Arik Air, Mr. Adebanji Ola, told THISDAY that the

load factor was average “and the second flight was even better than the first in terms of passenger turnout.”

Continued on page 8

FG Reverses Self, Cancels Reopening of Schools... Page 6 Thursday 9 July, 2020 Vol 25. No 9222. Price: N250

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Magu Faces Police Censure as Interrogation Enters Third Day Why most senior police officer in EFCC takes charge Osinbajo denies collecting N4bn from commission’s boss Omololu Ogunmade, Chuks Okocha and Kingsley Nwezeh in Abuja The heat on the Acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr. Ibrahim Magu, a Commissioner of Police, increased yesterday as his interrogation by the Justice Ayo Salami-led presidential

panel entered the third day, with the Police high command insisting that it is against its service rule for him to be under investigation and still function in office.

The Police, THISDAY learnt last night, has, therefore, directed the most senior police officer in the commission, Mr. Continued on page 8

Fresh Suit Challenges Legitimacy of APC Caretakers Appeal Court to hear Amaechi group's request on July 16

Davidson Iriekpen in Lagos and Alex Enumah in Abuja Despite the appeal by the National Caretaker Committee of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the National Executive Committee

(NEC) to all aggrieved members to withdraw their cases from the courts, a member of the party in Lagos State has filed a suit against the party at the Federal High Continued on page 8

LEGISLATORS IN EXECUTIVE ARM...

Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Godswill Akpabio (left), and Minister of Special Duties, Senator George Akume, during the virtual meeting of the Federal Executive Council in Abuja...yesterday godwin omoigui

Ondo Assembly's Deputy Speaker Suspended over Deputy Gov’s Removal...Page 5

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

Ondo Assembly’s Deputy Speaker Suspended over Deputy Gov’s Removal Majority leader resigns Ajayi writes chief judge

James Sowole in Akure The Ondo State House of Assembly yesterday pressed ahead with the bid to remove the Deputy Governor, Mr. Agboola Ajayi, despite opposition from nine of the members.

The immediate casualties of the process are the Deputy Speaker, Hon. Ogundeji Iroju of Odigbo Constituency 1, and two others: Hon. Adewale Williams of Ondo West Constituency II and Hon. Semilore Tomomewo of Ilaje II Constituency, who were suspended.

The Majority Leader of the Assembly, Hon. Sulaiman Maito, however, resigned his position.

The suspension of the three lawmakers was contained in the resolution of the House signed by the Deputy Majority Leader, Hon. Oladiji Adesanmi, and the Parliamentary Secretary, Hon. Abayomi Akinruntan.

Ajayi, however, wrote an open letter to the chief judge of the state, Justice Olanrewaju Akeredolu, yesterday, saying she should not compromise the integrity of her office in the move by the legislature to sack him.

The suspended legislators were part of the nine lawmakers that signed a letter dissociating them from the move to remove the deputy governor for alleged gross misconduct.

They were alleged to have engaged in conduct contrary to the code of conduct of the Assembly.

The Speaker of the Assembly, Hon. Bamidele Oleyelogun, said the suspended members violated standing rules of the legislature that could put it

into disrepute.

Oleyelogun noted that legislative business would henceforth be taken serious and asked the suspended members to submit all necessary documents in their possession and stay away from the Assembly's complex.

The suspension, therefore, was put into voice votes and the sitting came to an abrupt end as the sitting became rowdy.

However, Maito, in resigning his position as the majority leader, said he played politics with conscience and could not support the move of the Assembly against the deputy governor.

While speaking with journalists after the plenary, the Chairman, House Committee on Information, Hon. Gbenga Omole, explained that the suspension resolution was reached at a parliamentary meeting after their sitting on Tuesday.

Reacting to the suspension, one of the affected lawmakers, Iroju, accused the state Governor, Mr. Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, and the state Chairman of All Progressives Congress (APC), Mr. Ade Adetimehin, of masterminding their suspension because of their refusal to support the removal of the deputy governor.

He stated that there was no allegation against them, adding that the speaker did not give them an opportunity to defend themselves.

He, therefore, called on President Muhammadu Buhari to intervene so that the legislature would not be an appendage of the executive.

In her reaction, Tomomewo said due process should have been followed before

suspending them.

Ajayi Writes Chief Judge Meanwhile, Ajayi yesterday wrote an open letter to the chief judge of the state, advising her not to compromise the integrity of her office in the move by the Assembly to remove him.

The House had on Tuesday directed the Clerk of the House, Mr. Bode Adeyelu, to serve Ajayi the removal notice, following the approval of 14 of the 26-member Assembly, while nine other lawmakers

dissociated themselves from the move just as three of the members had yet to decide on the matter.

The open letter entitled: "Uphold the Integrity of Your Office" was addressed to the chief judge and signed

by Ajayi's Media Adviser, Mr. Allen Sowore.

Ajayi said in an ideal democracy, all power, especially state power must be exercised under the law and according to the dictates of the law.

According to him, as the chief judge of Ondo State, the move by Akeredolu to

remove him from office through the Assembly should give her a vital opportunity to uphold the integrity of Ondo State judiciary and its independence.

"It’s needless mentioning the level of desperation, which Mr. Governor has shown on this vexatious matter because history already has a place for his hypocritical stance in the law profession being a former president, Nigeria Bar Association (NBA). But your lordship, you have a name and integrity to

protect. The cerebral Chinua Achebe once said that: ‘One of the truest tests of integrity is its blunt refusal to be compromised.’

"If there’s any time the good people of Ondo State need your integrity, it’s now! And the reason is not farfetched as the governor has succeeded in compromising his party’s leadership in the state; the legislature. However, we, the people of Ondo State, still hold this belief that the judiciary is the last hope of the common man,” the deputy governor said.

FOR MARITIME SAFETY...

L-R: Director-General, Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, Dr. Bashir Jamoh; Managing Director, Nigerian Ports Authority, Ms. Hadiza Bala-Usman; and Executive Secretary, Nigerian Shippers Council, Mr. Hassan Bello, during the maiden meeting of heads of government parastatals in the maritime sector in Lagos...yesterday

NNPC Remits N1.7tn to FAAC in One Year Seven persons die in oil platform explosion Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja and Peter Uzoho in Lagos The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) paid about N1.7 trillion to the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC), between February 2019 and February 2020, the national oil company has said.

Figures from its full monthly financial report revealed that the NNPC also remitted N148.53 billion to FAAC in February 2020.

In dollar terms, the NNPC noted that it recorded a total export of $370.69 million in February, a decrease of 14.75 per cent compared to the previous month.

It added that crude oil export sales contributed $281.14 million (75.84 per cent) of the dollar transactions compared with $336.65 million contribution in the previous month; while the export gas

sales amounted to $89.55 million in the month.

“In February 2020, NNPC remitted the sum of N148.53 billion to the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC). From February 2019 to February 2020, total NNPC remittances to FAAC is N1.706 trillion; out of which federation and JV received the sum of N763.35 billion and N942.80 billion respectively.

“A total export sale of $370.69 million was recorded in February 2020; decreasing by 14.75 per cent compared to last month. Crude oil export sales contributed $281.14 million (75.84 per cent) of the dollar transactions compared with $336.65 million contribution in the previous month; while the export gas sales amounted to $89.55 million in the month.

“February 2019 to February 2020 crude oil and gas transactions indicated that

crude oil & gas worth $5.19 billion was exported”, the report said.

The NNPC put total export receipt at $282.32 million for February 2020 as against $626.80 million in January 2019, stating that contribution from crude oil amounted to $171.24 million while gas and miscellaneous receipts stood at $85.65 million and $25.43 million respectively.

“Of the export receipts, $161.39 million was remitted to the Federation Account while $120.93 million was remitted to fund the JV cost recovery for the month of February 2020 to guarantee current and future production.

“Total export crude oil and gas receipt for the period of February 2019 to February 2020 stood at $5.38 billion.

Out of which the sum of $3.70 billion was transferred to JV Cash Call as first line charge”, it stated.

According to the corporation, global oil demand growth in 2019 as revealed in the OPEC MOMR, decreased by 0.08 mb/d compared to last January’s assessment; to grow at 0.83 mb/d and reach 99.67 mb/d.

For the month under review, it said the OPEC crude oil production declined by 546 tb/d month-on-month to average 27.77 mb/d, while globally, oil supply in the month decreased by 0.29 mb/d m-o-m to average 99.75 mb/d, but increased by 0.78 mb/d year-on-year.

For the oil sector, it stated that real growth stood at 6.36 per cent (year-on-year) in Q4 2019, indicating 7.98 per cent points increase in comparison to the equivalent quarter of 2018.

The corporation said that in January 2020, total crude oil production in Nigeria increased by 3.46 mb or 5.69

Seven Persons Die in Oil Platform Explosion

reported dead in an explosion that occurred at the Gbetiokun oil field in Oil Mining Lease (OML) 40, operated by the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC), a subsidiary of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).

This is coming as the federal government is working on the establishment of an agency to be known as National Acreage Management Strategy (NAMSTRA) to take charge of oil bid rounds before the end of this year.

Located largely in Delta side of Benin River between Delta and Edo States, the field belongs to the NPDC/Elcrest Joint Venture.

NNPC, which confirmed the fatal incident that occurred on Tuesday, stated that other persons affected by the incident had been accounted

Seven persons have been

Continued on page 9

per cent at 64.26 mb with daily average of 2.07 mb/d.

However, it added that “production was disrupted by the shutdown of the TFP at Forcados for repairs while Bonny NCTL was shut down due to leaks on ROW near Boro / Awoba axis.

“Production was also interrupted at Bonga, Egina, Brass, Erha, Usan, Amenam, Ogo Ocha and Ima terminals due to lube oil loss, pump issues, loss of power, riser protector replacement, pipeline repairs, and flare management.”

It stated that the release of the report was in line with the corporation’s commitment to becoming more accountable, responsive, transparent and a fact-based organisation.

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FG Reverses Self, Cancels Reopening of Schools Boycotts WAEC’s 2020 SSCE, JSC Omololu Ogunmade in Abuja The federal government yesterday in Abuja reversed its earlier announcement, authorising schools to reopen for students participating in Senior Secondary Certificate Examinations (SSCE) and Junior Secondary Certificate Examinations (JSCE).

It said the schools under

the control of the Ministry of Education would remain close until it is safe to reopen them.

It also cancelled Nigeria's participation in the West African Examination Council (WAEC) examinations as scheduled this year as a result of the spread of COVID-19.

Also affected by the cancellation are students qualified to participate in

common entrance examinations.

A member of the Presidential Task Force (PTF) and Minister of State for Education, Mr. Chukwuemeka Nwajiuba, had on Monday, July 6, announced that schools would reopen for graduating students on August 4.

But the Minister of Education, Malam Adamu Adamu, while addressing

State House correspondents yesterday at the end of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari, said Nigerian schools remain closed until the COVID-19 pandemic is brought under control.

Adamu, who said that his junior colleague might have been misquoted, said he would

CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY...

L-R: Chief Executive Officer, Lagos State Security Trust Fund (LSSTF), Dr. Abdulrazaq Balogun; Community Relations Officer, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, Ms. Clementina Arubi; Managing Director, Shell Nigeria Exploration & Production Company; Mr. Bayo Ojulari; Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu; and Secretary to the State Government, Mrs. Folasade Jaji, during the donation of security vehicles to LSSTF by NNPC and SNEPCo in Lagos…yesterday

NBS: Nigerian Households Received Average of N84,741 Remittances James Emejo in Abuja Nigerian households received an average of N84,741 as remittances between 2018 and 2019, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

The average value of domestic remittance stood at N62,492 compared to international remittance, which stood at N22,248.

Also, on the average, both the urban and rural communities received N104,726 and N71,975 respectively in remittances, according to the Nigeria Living Standards Survey (NLSS) (2018/2019) released yesterday by the statistical agency in collaboration with the World Bank.

Remittances from relatives topped the medium of receipt from foreign and domestic sources during the review period.

While 52.7 per cent of households received remittances from the domestic medium, only 5.7 per cent received from international sources.

The main purposes of cash remittances were identified as consumption, payment of school fees, hospital bills, agricultural inputs and others.

About 54.0 per cent of households reported receiving remittances in the country. Of this number, 52.7 per cent received remittance from someone in Nigeria while 5.7 per cent got remittances from abroad, the report added.

Kebbi State recorded the largest share of householdremittance-recipients with 81.4 per cent while Sokoto had the lowest number of only 5.6 per cent.

Over 80 per cent of

households who received remittance reported using the transfers for consumption purposes, the NBS noted.

On employment, the statistical agency noted that more than 52 per cent of total of the population is of working age- between 15 and 64 years.

Lagos has the highest share of the working population with 62.2 per cent compared to Jigawa with the lowest share at 44.1 per cent.

The NLSS 2018-19 report represents the first large-scale household survey in a decade, focusing on measuring living conditions of the population.

The survey seeks to provide critical information for the production of a wide-range of socio-economic and demographic indicators, including for benchmarking and monitoring of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs); monitor progress in the population's welfare and provide statistical evidence and measure the impact on households of current and anticipated government policies.

According to the NBS, the report could also be utilised to improve other non-survey statistical information, especially to determine and calibrate the contribution of final consumption expenditures of households to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) as well update the weights and determine the basket for the national Consumer Price Index (CPI) and to improve the methodology and dissemination of micro-economic and welfare statistics in the country.

Nonetheless, the report put the average household size,

dependency ratio and share of female-headed households in the country at 5.06 per cent, 0.97 per cent and 18.8 per cent respectively.

On education, the survey among other things revealed that in Lagos State, 31.6 per cent of males and 23.9 per cent of females have tertiary education, compared to Zamfara where only 3.9 per cent of men and less than a per cent of women obtained tertiary degree.

It stated that about 14.3 per cent of the population above five years of age has never attended school, adding that the number is higher in rural areas with 18.9 per cent as compared to urban areas at 6.3 per cent.

According to the report: "Among the primary reasons of never attending the school, the reluctance and lack of interest on the parent's part dominate the list of answers, as reported by 43.0 and 56.8 per cent of male and female respondents respectively.

"In Nigeria, 30 and 22 per cent of males and females above 25 years of age report having seniors secondary level of education as the highest educational qualification. Only 16 per cent of males and 8 per cent of females report having tertiary level of education."

On health, the survey identified malaria as a major reason for health problems in the country as more than half- 51.7 per cent of those who reported health issues mentioned malaria as a top health concern.

In Zamfara, 65.4 per cent of those who reported sickness, suffer from malaria, while

in Bauchi only 30.8 per cent reported the same issue, the report stated.

It noted that the majority of ill people visited a chemist in search of medical treatment, 36.6 per cent of men and 35.5 per cent of women.

The survey said the share of hospitalisation is highest in Delta State, where 26.6 per cent of males and 24.9 per cent of females were hospitalised while the lowest rate is in Zamfara with less than 1 per cent of population admitted to the hospital in the last 12 months.

Furthermore, about half of the population or 49.9 per cent and 52.4 per cent of males and females use insecticide-treated mosquito bed-net.

The report stated that in Jigawa State 97.6 per cent of men and 98.5 per cent of females report sleeping under bed-net- the highest incidence of net use while in Lagos 12.4 per cent and 14.4 per cent of males and females respectively report using the mosquito net.

The NBS, however, cautioned that improvements in questionnaire design and survey implementation techniques had produced overall high-quality data.

As a result, it said: "As is often the case, making such improvements and achieving high standards in survey implementation often comes at the expense of comparability with past survey rounds.

"Recognising the benefits that come with a better survey infrastructure, a deliberate decision was made to use the NLSS 2018-19 as a new and improved the baseline for Nigeria's living standards survey system."

rather prefer Nigerian students losing an academic session than to be exposed to danger.

He also took a swipe at WAEC which he said had hastily announced the conduct of SSCE, insisting that WAEC had no right to determine the resumption date of schools for Nigeria.

According to him, schools will not reopen in Nigeria very soon either for external examinations or usual academic activities until it is safe for children to return to school in view of the astronomical rise in the spread and infection of COVID-19.

The minister also appealed to states which had announced the reopening of schools in their domains to have a rethink, saying it is not safe to reopen schools now and as the minister of education he's accountable for the lives of Nigerian children.

He said: "I don't know whether you journalists are misquoting the Minister of State for Education or maybe quoting what WAEC said and made it into a story. Schools under the supervision of the Federal Ministry of Education will not be opened on August 4 or anytime soon.

"Our schools will only open when we believe it's safe for our children and that is when the situation is right, not when the incidence of the infection is going up in the nation. I just want to make it clear. We will not open schools soon for examination or for any reason unless it is safe for our children, even WAEC. WAEC will not determine for us what we do.

Schools will remain closed.

"Yesterday, we called on stakeholders who will tell us the situation and the way it should be done for it to be safe.

While the meeting was going on, WAEC announced that they are starting examinations. Let's see who they are going to start with.

"I will also like to use this position to ask those states that have already announced (reopening), I appeal to them.

I think it is not safe. I feel responsible for all children, not just those who are in federal government controlled schools.

Please let's save our children from this.

"One infected child is enough to infect a whole class. When they close from class, they go into the dormitory. This is not the right time to open schools. I appeal to the states that have already announced to reconsider it."

Asked if he took into consideration the implication of denying students from participating in next month's SSCE, Adamu said: "Me as Minister of Education, if I'm given the chance, I don't mind Nigeria losing a whole school year than exposing our children to danger. WAEC is a parastatal of the Ministry of Education.

They cannot determine for the government."

In his briefing yesterday, the Minister of Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, said FEC approved an augmentation of the existing contract for the completion of Enugu - Lokponta section of the Enugu - Port Harcourt Highway by N25 billion.

He also said the council approved the award of three different roads, saying "the first is Dikwa-Marte-Mungunu road for N60,273 billion and the Numan road linking Borno and Adamawa for N15.527 billion, and the third is for Gombi-Biu linking Adamawa and Borno also for N7.643 billion."

Again, FIRS Extends Waiver on Penalties, Interest Payment to Aug 31 James Emejo in Abuja The Executive Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Mr. Muhammad Nami, has announced a further extension for the closing date of its waiver of penalty and interest window on tax debts owed by individuals and businesses from June 30 to August 31.

FIRS had earlier extended the deadline set to waive interests accruable to debts as well as the related penalties for defaulting taxpayers if they fully settle their indebtedness on or before May 31 to June 30.

However, Nami, in a statement issued yesterday

by Director, Communications and Liaison Department, FIRS, Dr. Abdullahi Ahmad, said the latest extension was a followup to a number of palliative measures devised by the FIRS to cushion the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Nigerian economy in order to support tax-paying individuals and business entities in the country.

However, he noted that the extension applies to “tax audit, tax investigation and desk review assessments approved installment payment plans under Voluntary Assets and Income Declaration Scheme (VAIDS) yet to be

fully liquidated.”

He, however, said there would be no further extension of the current palliative measure, adding that "tax debtors are therefore enjoined to liquidate their outstanding tax liabilities on or before August 31, 2020, in order to enjoy a waiver of accumulated penalties and interests.”

He also urged debtors to contact their respective tax controller or the nearest FIRS regional debt management office in case of further enquiries.

Nami had said the moves were part of FIRS’ efforts to mobilise resources for the federal government whose fiscal power had been badly impaired by the drastic fall in global oil prices occasioned by the outbreak and spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The service had earlier announced the resumption of audit, investigations, and monitoring exercises, earlier suspended as part of measures to cushion the impact of the pandemic.

FIRS had earlier announced the decision to waive accumulated penalties and interests for tax defaulters.

It had also directed businesses to commence payment of their annual returns earlier than the due date, apart from their normal monthly obligations.

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PAGE EIGHT LOW PASSENGERS’ TURNOUT AS FLIGHT OPERATIONS RESUME The low turnout was felt at the two domestic terminals of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos.

Flights resumed at Murtala Muhammed Airport (MMA2) and General Aviation Terminal (GAT) domestic terminals amid strict safety protocols.

Air Peace, Arik Air, Max Air and Ibom Air operated their Lagos-Abuja routes with about 50 to 60 per cent load factor.

For instance, Arik's Air's 7:15 am Lagos-Abuja flight had 78 passengers on board its Boeing 737 aircraft, which would have carried an average of 150 to 200 passengers despite the social distance requirement.

On its second Lagos-Abuja flight, the airline carried about 80 passengers.

Aero Contractors said it would resume flight operations today.

A visit to the Lagos airport showed passengers were required to wear face masks, observe social distance and use hand sanitisers. Thermometers were used to check their body temperature.

Passengers said they were impressed with the level of compliance in response to tackling COVID-19 and they hoped the compliance would be sustained.

Ms. Aisha Khalid, one of the passengers on Max Air at the Lagos airport, said she was very happy with the flight resumption and with the protocols initiated by the airport authority to ensure passengers are

protected from contracting the virus.

"My flight will take off by 11 am but I left the house by 6 am just to ensure I get to the airport in time and keep to the three hours before take-off rule.

"I am impressed with what I see at the airport.

Everything is working perfectly fine.

Social distancing is implemented and the screening is perfect," Khalid stated.

Following the approval for resumption of flight operations, the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) released new guidelines for air travellers and other airport users. The new Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) is aimed at protecting all stakeholders and preventing further spread of COVID-19.

In a statement signed by Corporate Affairs Manager, FAAN, Mrs. Henrietta Yakubu, the agency said: "In the “New Normal,” departing passengers must comply with the following guidelines; all passengers must arrive at the airport properly kitted with their face masks on.

"They must also ensure a minimum of one-pointfive metres (1.5m) physical distancing, aviation medical/port health personnel would screen each passenger and ensure the use of face masks, those travelling with pets must get necessary clearance from Nigerian Agricultural Quarantine Services, All passengers’ luggage would be disinfected before entry

into the departure halls.

"Passengers are required to wash their hands as often as possible, hand sanitiser would be provided for passengers before the entrance, at the waiting halls/lounges and preboarding gates, all footwear would be disinfected or sanitised by foot mats placed at all entrances to the terminal building, amongst others."

Meanwhile, domestic airlines have raised fares by almost 50 per cent, as checks indicated that a one-way ticket from Lagos to major destinations such as Abuja, Port Harcourt or Owerri increased by 48 per cent as the fare, which hitherto cost between N22,000 to N28,000 now costs between N33,000 to N41,000.

For instance, a one-way ticket from Lagos to Abuja on Arik Air is N32,699; for Dana, it costs N35,099 and on Air Peace it is N40, 299.

However, Air Peace has urged its customers to embrace online booking and check-in, employing its user-friendly mobile app, as a means of minimising physical contact.

In a statement, the airline's spokesperson, Mr. Stanley Olisa, said Air Peace had put in place measures to protect both passengers and staff pre-flight, in-flight and post-flight, adding that the flying public need not worry but comply with all health protocols.

He said the airline had disinfected all its aircraft and the flight crew current as

well as COVID-19 conscious.

"If you've been following our social media platforms, you would have seen robust sensitisation content in form of videos showing what is expected of our passengers in this COVID-19 dispensation," Olisa stated.

Also, Dana Air has announced the resumption of its flight services today.

The airline said it would operate three daily flights from Lagos to Abuja and back while the date for the addition of Port Harcourt and Owerri would be announced later.

Chief Operating Officer of Dana Air, Mr. Obi Mbanuzuo, while speaking on the preparedness of the airlines said: ''Dana Air is ready to fly safely again from the 9th of July. We have worked round the clock with the NCAA to achieve this safe resumption of flights and we are introducing other initiatives soon in line with the present realities and the need to minimise contacts at the airport.

"We have disinfected all our aircraft, provided all our staff with the recommended Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), alcohol-based hand sanitisers have been made available at our check-in, boarding gates and on board the aircraft for guests and we have an optimised cleaning protocol in place as recommended by the World Health Organisation (WHO), and the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA). We have also created a boarding strategy which will give our

passengers some sense of safety onboard our aircraft."

However, Aero Contractors said it had received approval to start operations today.

Aero explained that it chose to resume flight service a day after the official restart date in order to stagger flight schedule to ensure that airport facilities are not stretched beyond COVID-19 protocol guidelines.

The airline added that contrary to some media reports that indicated the airline was denied approval to operate, it has received approval from the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) and it would start operations today.

“Based on the protocol and NCAA regulation in cognisance of the new airport facilitation and COVID-19 protocols, we decided to restart our operation tomorrow (today) in order to stagger the flight schedule. So we are inviting our esteemed customers who have enjoyed our service over the years to fly with us from tomorrow (today)," it stated.

Aguma, APC and former National Chairman of the APC, Mr. Adams Oshiomhole, are the first, second and third respondents.

Justice George Omereji of a Rivers State High Court had on June 9 declared Aguma as the acting chairman of the party in the state.

The court also compelled the party to allow all members of the party loyal to Abe to participate in the new congresses.

The court voided the caretaker committee appointed by the nowdissolved NWC of the party in 2018.

Dissatisfied with the judgment, Ogbobula went to the appellate court, praying the court to set aside Justice Omereji's judgment and restore him as the chairman in the state.

When the matter came up yesterday, counsel to Aguma, Mr. Emeka Etiaba (SAN), raised a preliminary objection, arguing that the appellant did not comply with the rule of the court in compiling and transmitting records to the Appeal Court.

He said it was near impossible for a court to have delivered a judgment on Thursday and the record filed and transmitted to the Court of Appeal in Abuja the following day.

He held further that the Appeal Court cannot depart from its own rule to give vent to non-proper filing and regularisation of application, especially when it was not yet time to file.

He said the appellant put "the horse before the cart" in transmitting records to Appeal Court in that as at when the application was filed, the records had not been properly compiled.

Etiaba also raised the issue of non-proper service on one of the respondents.

But the appellant's counsel, Mr. Tuduru Ede (SAN), said the court could set aside and depart from its own rules when the need arises to regularise a process.

Tuduru held that the court has the power to deem an application properly filed and start running from the time. "I hold this honourable court has the power to grant prayers we are seeking,"

Airlines Records 94% Compliance with Protocols, Says NCAA The Director-General of NCAA, Captain Nuhu, yesterday said most of the airlines have so far recorded 94 per cent compliance level with COVID-19 protocols and guidelines.

Nuhu, while speaking to the press on the sidelines of flights resumption

at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, noted: "Since the end of March we started preparations since the industry was grounded at the end of March and we communicated extensively with the industry stakeholders on the protocols and guidelines that need to be complied with before they are given approvals for them to resume operations.

"The guidelines are in two phases, the technical safety, that is the aircraft safety in terms of taking off and landing; and also the health safety, which you can see such as the floor markings, temperature checks, other health checks such as coughing and sneezing, wearing of the mask before you are allowed to enter the airport, wash hand basins are located at the airport entrance, social distance that must be followed at the check-in counters and the entire airport to ensure that people are not squeezed together.

"Also temperature checks are carried out before boarding aircraft, wearing of face mask and others."

On the level of compliance, he said there had been significant compliance by the airlines, noting that the agency has had feedbacks from the Lagos and Abuja and it was positive.

On the deployment of robots for passenger screening, he said FAAN was still working on it and it would be deployed as and when due.

FRESH SUIT CHALLENGES LEGITIMACY OF APC CARETAKERS Court in Lagos, seeking the sack of the caretaker committee.

This is coming as the Abuja Division of the Court of Appeal yesterday fixed July 16 for hearing in the appeal brought by members of the party in Rivers State loyal to the Minister of Transport, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi.

The APC member, Chief Lateef Arigbaruwo, in the suit number FHC/L/ CS/789/2020 is faulting the NEC meeting of the party held on June 25.

The suit has the APC, Mr. Victor Giadom, NEC and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as first to fourth respondents respectively.

Arigbaruwo, who claims to be a chieftain of the APC in Ojo Local Government Area in Lagos State is asking the court to declare whether having regards to Article 25, paragraph B (i) and (ii) of the Constitution of the party, the 24 hours’ notice given by the 2nd defendant for the NEC meeting held on June 25 was valid and legal.

The suit, which was filed on July 1 on behalf of the

plaintiff by Mr. Dimien Edonkumoh, is also seeking “an order of the court setting aside all the decisions taken in the NEC meeting, which he declared illegal on the grounds that it was conveyed in the June 24 and held on June 25, contrary to Article 25 of the APC Constitution.”

The plaintiff asked the court to restrain the caretaker committee members from parading themselves as such.

He wants the court to grant an order allowing the APC National Vice Chairman (South-south), Mr. Hilliard Eta, to pilot the affairs of the APC as acting national chairman and to preside at all meetings of the National Working Committee and NEC. THISDAY gathered that when the case came up on Tuesday, Justice Mohammed Liman, to whom the suit was assigned, declined to hear the matter, insisting the matter be heard at the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) where the defendants reside.

He then transferred the case file to the Chief Judge of the court in Abuja for

re-assignment.

Appeal Court to Hear Amaechi Group's Request on July 16 The Abuja Division of the Court of Appeal, yesterday fixed July 16 for hearing in the appeal brought by the members of the party in Rivers State loyal to Amaechi.

A three-man panel of the appellate court, led by Justice Stephen Ada, announced the date for hearing in the substantive suit after the court dismissed the preliminary objection raised by the Acting Chairman of APC in Rivers State, Mr. Igo Aguma, who is of Senator Magnus Abe’s group.

The sacked Chairman of the party’s Caretaker Committee, Mr. Isaac Ogbobula, who is a loyalist of Amaechi, had approached the Court of Appeal to challenge the judgment of the Rivers State High Court that sacked his committee and affirmed Aguma as the acting chairman of the APC in the state.

MAGU FACES POLICE CENSURE AS INTERROGATION ENTERS THIRD DAY Mohammed Umar, a deputy commissioner of police, and the commission’s director in charge of operations to stand in, pending the outcome of the ongoing investigation of Magu.

As Magu continued to tell the panel his own side of the story yesterday, the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, SAN, denied an allegation by “Jackson Ude that he collected N4billion

from the EFCC boss”.

A statement by his media aide, Mr. Laolu Akande, said the allegation was false and had been referred to the appropriate authority for investigation.

A reliable security source told THISDAY last night that the Police high command had decided to subject Magu, a serving commissioner in the force, to its service rules, which does not allow

an officer who is under investigation to function in the office.

“Magu is essentially a policeman and he is subject to police rules. So, the police are holding him and insisting that he must stand down,” the highly placed security source said.

However, THISDAY gathered that Magu might be suffering from his perceived arrogance and stubbornness,

and having failed to give respect to his seniors in the security services, which had brought him on a collision course with very senior officers of the force, including his superiors as well as the Department of State Security (DSS), which wrote the damaging report that did him in at the Eight Senate that refused to confirm his nomination as chairman of the commission.

“Magu certainly allowed his position to get into his head. Many senior officers of the force have issues with him and feel this is an opportunity to get even with him,” he said.

THISDAY also learnt that there had been no love lost between him and the DSS. “Apart from his arrest and investigation of a former Continued on page 9

Tuduru added.

In a short ruling, the Court of Appeal dismissed the objection on the grounds that the argument of the first respondent was misconceived and, therefore, liable to dismissal.

Justice Ada held further that the appellant's application complied with the rule of the Appeal Court, adding that the application for preliminary objection "was a complete waste of court's time and abuse of court process."

The panel further said that Etiaba's objection was a disgraceful act that ought not to be at the Court of Appeal.

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PepsiCo Board Elects Agbaje as Independent Member Peter Uzoho One of the world’s leading food and beverage companies, serving over 200 countries, PepsiCo, yesterday announced that its Board of Directors has elected the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Guaranty Trust Bank (GTB) Plc, Mr. Segun Agbaje as an independent member of the Board.

GTB is a Nigerian multinational financial institution.

Agbaje, 56, will join the Board and the Audit Committee effective July 15, 2020.

"I am delighted to welcome Segun to the PepsiCo Board," said PepsiCo Chairman and CEO, Ramon Laguarta.

"Segun is a well-respected and proven business leader with a deep understanding

of complex businesses and fast-growing markets, particularly Sub-Saharan Africa where we recently acquired Pioneer Foods as part of our strategy to expand in the region.

His experience in business transformation and passion for delivering consumer value will serve PepsiCo well as we continue our journey to be the global leader in convenient foods

and beverages by winning with purpose."

Prior to becoming Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Guaranty Trust Bank Plc in 2011, Agbaje held several positions at the bank after joining in 1991, including Executive Director and most recently Deputy Managing Director from 2002 to 2011.

Previously, Agbaje served as an auditor for Ernst &

Young LLP in the United States from 1988 to 1990.

"We look forward to Segun joining the PepsiCo Board and to the valued global perspective he will add to our team," said chair of the Board's Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee, Daniel Vasella.

"His knowledge and experience of embracing and scaling new technologies and critical capabilities will be

valuable as we continue to invest in opportunities that create shareholder value and deliver long-term sustainable growth."

Agbaje also currently serves as a director of MasterCard Advisory Board Middle East and Africa.

He holds a Bachelor of Science in Accounting and a Masters in Business Administration from the University of San Francisco.

No Date Yet for Payment of Arrears of Military Pension, Says Board Kingsley Nwezeh in Abuja The Military Pensions Board (MPB) yesterday said there was no fixed date yet for the payment of arrears of pension owed retired military personnel.

It urged pensioners to disregard rumours making the rounds that a date was fixed

by the board for payment of the three months’ areas of salaries.

A statement issued by the Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the board, Flight Lieutenant Olayinka Lawal, said the Major General Ahmadu Bala Adamu-led board was working to assiduously to pay the balance of the arrears.

"The Military Pensions Board (MPB) wishes to inform our esteemed pensioners to disregard, in totality, the rumours making the rounds in the media, that a specific date has been fixed for the proposed payment of three months balance of arrears to pensioners by the MPB.

“For the avoidance of doubt, the MPB wishes to state unequivocally that no particular date has been fixed for the payment yet," it said.

The statement said the Chairman of the Board, Major General Ahmadu Bala Adamu and his team were working tirelessly and continuously liaising with

appropriate agencies to ensure the prompt payment of the remaining three months of arrears in furtherance of the federal government’s resolve to improve the welfare of military pensioners in the country.

"Accordingly, the MPB hereby implores all military retirees to continue to support

the board as it continues to ensure that all retired personnel of the Armed Forces of Nigeria (AFN) get their deserved entitlements.

"Finally, retirees are encouraged to always stick to the established official means of communication provided by the board for authentic information”.

Disaster for Buhari, Says Falana

said all the chairmen of the EFCC had left office under controversial circumstances, noting that some were accused of corruption while some were removed on the basis of insubordination.

Falana, however, said that Magu’s case was different because he is being tried by the regime that appointed him into office.

He refused to comment on the substance of the allegations levelled against the EFCC boss, stating that it would be a breach of Magu’s right to a fair hearing because the case is under investigation.

Asked if he would defend Magu if approached, Falana said: “I have not been asked but I believe he is entitled to a lawyer.”

But giving reasons why it would be difficult for him to act as Magu’s lawyer, he said: “I have never taken a case against the EFCC and I have never prosecuted a case for the EFCC because I also want to maintain my own independence so that I can join issues with the EFCC if I believe that it is going outside the provisions of the law.”

the federal government is poised to give support to the winners in terms of providing advisory roles to them on how to go about meeting the target.

“There is no magic to developing fields. Already, we have 16 marginal field operators producing in the country, and we have seen how they went about it. So, the government is prepared to help winners succeed by giving them aggressive work implementation tactics," he said.

He added that before opening up this year’s bid rounds in June, the department had embarked on various studies to help investors become successful.

“We have seen how other marginal oil and gas firms became successful and as long as funding and other things are on the ground, it is possible to achieve first oil in two years," he added.

MAGU FACES POLICE CENSURE AS INTERROGATION ENTERS THIRD DAY director-general of DSS, Mr. Ita Ekpenyong, Magu also clashed with the secret service over the acquisition of 14, Awolowo Road, Ikoyi Lagos, as the commission’s annex office, which used to be owned by the DSS,” the security source said.

Part of Magu’s problem, explained another source, is the lack of clarity in his submissions to the press and the authorities on the commission’s recoveries.

One of the allegations against the anti-graft boss was that whereas he claimed that the commission had recovered N980 billion worth of assets while what is in the account is less than N100 billion.

But Magu had labored unsuccessfully to explain that most of the assets and monies recovered were under litigation and could not be posted to the account of the federal government until the litigations are concluded.

Meanwhile, his interrogation continued yesterday for the third day.

However, as it was the situation on Monday and Tuesday, journalists were again barred from accessing the venue of the meeting

as a security official at the gate of the venue turned them back.

THISDAY learnt yesterday that Magu, who had been in police custody since Monday night was brought before the panel at 11.44 am by the FCID. He was later joined by his lawyer at the investigation panel sitting.

Osinbajo Denies Collecting N4 billion from Magu In a related development, Osinbajo last night denied an allegation by one Jackson Ude that Magu gave him N4 billion from alleged looted funds.

The allegation against the vice-president said to have been published by Ude online claimed that Magu stole N39 billion and gave N4 billion of the sum to Osinbajo.

But a statement by the vice-president's spokesman, Mr. Laolu Akande, last night, described the allegation as sheer falsehood and a mere concoction by Ude with the intention of smearing the image of the vice-president.

He said Ude is known

for fabricating fake news, and in accordance with his stock in trade, concocted the story to create the impression that the allegation is one of the revelations before the presidential panel probing Magu's alleged corrupt practices.

According to Akande, Ude is noted for criminal defamation of character and has been referred to law enforcement agencies to investigate it and promptly bring it to move against it as the case may be.

He stated: "The attention of the Office of the Vice President has been drawn to a series of tweets and online publications by [an online medium] today 8th July 2020, credited to the same person, one Jackson Ude. "In essence, Ude’s story is that 'embattled former Chairman of Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, allegedly embezzled over N39 billion and gave Vice President Yemi Osinabjo (sic) N4 billion, after the VP gave instructions to him to release some of the recovered loots…'

"The same Jackson Ude

has also been circulating a video on YouTube with a female commentator, peddling the same lies.

"With all emphasis at our disposal, let it be firmly stated that these are totally false and baseless fabrications purporting to reflect goings-on at the probe panel investigating Mr. Ibrahim Magu. They are indeed completely absurd in every respect.

"Sadly, such mindless, vicious and reckless publications have now become the preferred tool of unscrupulous and reprobate elements in our society who are procured with monetary inducement to peddle blatant falsehood, tarnish the image of upright public officials and mislead unsuspecting Nigerians.

"Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, SAN, will of course not be distracted by these obvious campaigns of lies and calumny. The online publications, being criminally defamatory in nature, have been referred to the relevant law enforcement agencies for investigation and necessary action."

Magu's Case, Moral

A human rights lawyer, Mr. Femi Falana, SAN, yesterday said the arrest and suspension of Magu was a moral disaster for the anti-corruption drive of Buhari.

Falana, while speaking on ‘Your View,’ a programme on TVC, said it was expected that the person prosecuting others for corruption should not be enmeshed in the same crime.

He said the president has the right to order the investigation in the wake of a petition against the anti-graft boss alleging corrupt infractions.

“There is no doubt that this is a moral disaster for the anti-corruption crusade of the regime but we also have to appreciate the fact that the head of EFCC must be free from corruption.

“And I believe that Mr. Magu will be given the opportunity to address the allegations. If he is found culpable the law will take its course, if it is the other way, the law will take its turn,” he stated.

The human rights lawyer

had become necessary given that the last bid round was about 17 years ago.

The webinar was organised by the Nigerian Association of Petroleum Explorationists (NAPE), with the theme: “Nigeria Marginal Field Bid Round: Implications, Challenges and Opportunities”.

Auwalu added that for the nation’s oil industry to remain competitive within the sub-Saharan region, there was a need to determine Nigeria’s potential oil basins and when to call for bid rounds.

According to him, with the nation’s available seven basins comprising the Benue (North-central), Sokoto (North-west border), Chad (North-east), Bida (Central, along the Niger valley), Dahomey (South- west), Anambra (South-east) Basins and the Niger Delta (South coastal), including the deep

water, the establishment of NAMSTRA would help the country to decide the next bid round after assessing the commercial viability of these basins.

“NAMSTRA will also help to determine how prolific such basins will be in a bid round process,” he stated.

On the interest of investors in the current bid round, he added that no fewer than 10 companies had sought for each of the marginal field put out for bid this year.

He reiterated that about 600 companies have applied for pre-qualification in the bidding for the 57 oil fields.

Auwalu said: “First I will say that we have really witnessed an increase in bidders after the extension of the deadline to June 21.

There has been almost 30 per cent increase in participation.

“If you are making a bid or auctioning any oil field, you

need to get 10 people per field really going after the field. We have 57 fields and we have over 600 companies.

So, we can say that we are celebrating success so far.

“After the extension, we are moving according to schedule and now we are in the phase where we do pre-qualification for the bidders to apply. Everything is going perfectly."

However, the DPR director said oil and gas companies that have become successful in the 2020 marginal fields bid rounds had just two years to deliver their first oil.

According to him, the federal government expects bidders to already have both funding and technicalities already prepared for production and should launch into exploration immediately upon winning, adding that the bidding would be held electronically.

Auwalu explained that

NNPC REMITS N1.7TN TO FAAC IN ONE YEAR for.

The corporation added that the accident happened during the installation of the ladder on a platform (Benin River Valve Station) for access during discharging of Gbetiokun production.

A statement by the NNPC’s Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, Dr. Kennie Obateru, stated that detailed investigation of the cause of the explosion had commenced.

It said the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) had been duly notified and Form 41 was being prepared for the industry regulator as required in circumstances of that nature.

“The bodies of casualties have been deposited in a morgue in Sapele, while families of the personnel involved are being contacted by their employers: Weld

Affairs and Flow Impact, which are consultants to NPDC,” the NNPC said.

The statement added that all personnel onboard the platform had been fully accounted for, adding that the Group Managing Director of NNPC, Mr. Mele Kyari, commiserated with the families of the bereaved.

FG to Establish Agency for Oil Bid Rounds The federal government is working on the establishment of an agency to be known as NAMSTRA before the end of this year.

NAMSTRA will be saddled with the responsibility of putting in place strategies to determine the nation’s periodic bid rounds in the oil and gas industry.

The Director of the DPR, Mr. Sarki Auwalu, said yesterday at a webinar that establishing such an agency

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$9.7m, £74,000 Found in My House were Gifts, Ex-NNPC Boss Tells Court A former Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National

Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mr. Andrew Yakubu, yesterday

With 460 New Infections, Nigeria’s COVID-19 Cases Crosses 30,000 Mark Martins Ifijeh Nigeria has recorded 460 new cases of COVID-19, bringing to 30,249 the number of confirmed cases in the country.

Announcing this yesterday, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) said Lagos recorded 150 new cases; Rivers, 49; Delta, 38; Federal Capital Territory (FCT), 26; Anambra and Kano, 20 each;

Plateau, 18; Edo, 14; Bayelsa, 13; Osun, 12; Kwara, 10; Borno, eight; Ogun, seven; Kaduna, six; Imo, four; Gombe and Bauchi, three each; Niger, two; while Adamawa recorded one case.

It said: “Nigeria has recorded 30,249 new cases of COVID-19. 12,373 persons have been discharged, while 684 deaths have been recorded.”

Military Denies Losing 20 Soldiers to Insurgents, Says Two Died Nwezeh Kingsley in Abuja and Michael Olugbode in Maiduguri Military authorities said yesterday that troops of Operation Lafiya Dole clashed with insurgents along Damboa-Maiduguri Road, killing 17 insurgents and losing two soldiers, contrary to reports that 20 soldiers died in an ambush by the terrorists.

More than 20 soldiers were said to have lost their lives to an ambush by Boko Haram in Borno State.

Sources within the Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF) and security circles told THISDAY in Maiduguri that 23 soldiers were killed and two injured in the ambush.

The sources revealed that the deceased soldiers were attached to 25 Task Force Brigade, Damboa in Borno.

The sources said the soldiers ran into an ambush along the Maiduguri-Damboa road as they were returning from a five-day clearance operation, on Tuesday.

But the DDMO said two

soldiers died in action during the fierce encounter.

It said the troops of 25 Task Force Brigade deployed at Damboa in conjunction with elements of Sector 2 Special Forces while on clearance operations along Damboa -Maiduguri Road, made contact with a Boko Haram/Islamic State’s West Africa Province criminals’ ambush team along their axis of advance.

“In the aftermath of the encounter, 17 Boko Haram/ Islamic State’s West Africa Province were neutralised as several others were believed to have narrowly escaped with varying degrees of gunshot wounds while a cache of arms and ammunition were equally captured by the gallant troops”, it said.

It said “two valiant soldiers paid the supreme price while four others were wounded in action.

However, the wounded in action soldiers have been evacuated to a military medical facility and currently responding positively to treatment”.

Senator Faults Buhari’s Request for Confirmation of 11 FCT Judges Deji Elumoye in Abuja Chairman of the Senate Committee on Judiciary and Legal Matters, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele, has stated that it was constitutionally wrong for President Muhammadu Buhari to have sought Senate confirmation of 11 nominees as High Court judges of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

The president had in a letter read at Senate plenary last Tuesday sought the approval of the Senate for the confirmation of 11 judges for FCT courts.

Rather, Bamidele stated that the president did not need the approval of the Senate to approve such judges once they are recommended to him by the National Judicial Council.

He, therefore, asked the upper chamber to regard the letter from the president as mere notification and information about the appointment of the judges.

The senator had at plenary yesterday raised Order 42 of Senate Standing Rules which deals with personal explanation, saying: “It has to do with a correspondence from the president which has gone beyond administrative issues, and having been read on the floor of the Senate, I believe we have to take position on it in a noncontroversial manner, and that is why I am coming under Order 42.

“Section 256 of the 1999 Constitution as amended talked about the appointment of chief judge and judges of the high court of the FCT. “Section 256(1) reads: ‘The appointment of a person to the office of a Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, FCT, shall be made by the president on the recommendation of the National Judicial Council subject to confirmation of such appointment by the same.

told the Federal High Court in Abuja that the $9.7million and £74,000 found in his house in 2017 by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), were part of monies people gave to him as gifts.

Yakubu is facing money laundering charge at the Federal High Court in Abuja.

The former NNPC boss, who opened his defence before the trial court, said he received the monies in tranches of not more than $10,000 and not more than £5, 000.

Testifying as his own witness, Yakubu told the court that people gave him monetary gifts on occasions such as birthdays, thanksgiving services, and other celebrations he hosted after he left service.

Officials of the EFCC had on the strength of a tip-off by a whistleblower, raided the defendant’s guest house situated at Sabon Tasha, Kaduna State, and recovered alleged loot,

which was in foreign currencies.

EFCC said it discovered the sum of $9.7million and £74,000 that Yakubu hid in a fireproof safe inside the house.

Following the discovery, a Federal High Court in Kano, on February 13, 2017, issued an interim order that forfeited the recovered monies to the federal government.

The anti-graft agency later preferred a six-count criminal charge against Yakubu but the trial court, on May 16, 2019, struck out counts 5 and 6 of the charge based on a no-casesubmission that was made by the defendant.

Also, following an appeal by defendant, the Abuja Division of the Court of Appeal further struck out counts 1 and 2 of the charge and ordered him to open his defence with respect to only counts 3 and 4 of the charge.

At the resumed proceeding at the trial court yesterday, the defendant mounted the witness

box to narrate his own side of the story. Led in evidence by his lawyer, Mr. Ahmed Raji (SAN), the defendant said: “Yes my lord, I confirm that the monies were contained in a safe taken from my property. “As I stated in my statement with the EFCC, the money found in the safe, is mine.

The money was not received in bulk. It was received in tranches of not more than $10,000 and not more than £5,000.

“Substantial part of that amount was given to me after I left service. It was given to me on such occasions as birthdays, thanksgiving services, and other celebrations that I hosted after leaving my office.

“I also hosted marriages of my daughters. In fact, over 98 per cent of the money came from gifts.

“The purpose of keeping the money was to think of business ventures I will embark on, but it was not my intention to go into business investment without

going through a financial institution.

“Since the money was given to me unexpected, I kept the money in safety, in a safe, pending when I decide on specific business venture to embark on. And as soon as the decision is crystalised, the business would be funded through the financial institutions.”

He continued: “For over 25 years, I had reason by virtue of my schedule to travel to many parts of the world. I was entitled to estacodes in United States dollars.

“Any saving I made during the trip, I came back and saved.

The other two per cent of the funds recovered from my safe was from such savings I made from travels.

“The prevailing rate of dollar at that time was average of N150 to a dollar and N250 to Pound Sterling. That was about the bank rate at that time”.

LINKING UP COMMUNITIES...

L-R: Wife of former Governor of old Anambra State, Mrs. Pat Nwobodo; her husband, Jim; Enugu State Governor, Hon. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi; and General Officer Commanding 82 Division of the Nigerian Army, Maj. Gen. Lasisi Adegboye, during the inauguration of 14 Bay Bailey Bridge across Nyama River, at Amechi, Enugu South LGA...yesterday

Wike Sacks Perm Sec for Flouting COVID-19 Guidelines Sets up taskforce to enforce wearing of face masks

River State Governor, Mr. Nyesom Wike, has sacked a Permanent Secretary, Mr. Sunny Okere, with immediate effect for flouting and obstructing the enforcement of the COVID-19 guidelines.

He said the sacked permanent secretary had the temerity to chase away officials of the state Ministry of Health, who went to Oyigbo to enforce the established guidelines on public burials.

A statement signed by the state Commissioner for Information and Communications, Mr.

Paulinus Nsirim, said the governor spoke yesterday in a statewide broadcast.

Wike said his action against the permanent secretary would act as a lesson to all other public officers who might wish to be irresponsible.

The governor also appealed to residents of the state to take personal responsibility to curb the spread of coronavirus.

He said with the commencement of inter-state travels and domestic flights,

residents must be cautious in relating with friends and relatives coming from heavily impacted areas like Lagos and Abuja in line with the established protocol of 14 days isolation.

He said as at July 8, the COVID-19 samples collected were 4,573; samples tested, 3,871; total confirmed cases, 1,235; discharged cases, 810; active cases, 382 and total deaths 43.

He said: “From the first days of this virus, we took serious measures and literally set the

pace in our country to slow down the spread.

“We have noticed that most affected people are resorting to self-medication instead of presenting themselves for treatment at the state’s treatment centres.

“Those who experience symptoms of fever, cough, loss of smell or taste and shortness of breath, among others should present themselves for appropriate treatment at the expense of the state government.

PDP Demands Magu’s Prosecution over Allegation of Corruption Chuks Okocha in Abuja The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has demanded the prosecution of the suspended Acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr. Ibrahim Magu over alleged fraud.

This was contained in a statement issued yesterday and entitled, “Fraud: Magu Must

Face Prosecution, Says PDP …

Insists Indictment Reinforces Graft Allegations,” signed by the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, in Abuja.

The party said, after reviewing the reported circumstances surrounding the investigation of the indicted acting Chairman of the EFCC, it was demanding for his prosecution.

It explained that Magu’s

indictment reinforces the PDP’s position that the much-hyped war against corruption by the EFCC, under his watch, has been a huge scam by corrupt individuals to cover the plundering of public resources, harass political opponents, intimidate and extort money from innocent Nigerians.

Ologbondiyan said, “The revelations of diversion of recovered funds and

fraudulent sale of assets seized by the EFCC among other sleazes, as detailed in the memo by the Attorney General and Minister of Justice, as well as the report of the Department of State Services on Magu’s activities, have further exposed the racket that the fight against corruption had become under the All Progressives Congress (APC).

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

WALTER RODNEY, GEORGE FLOYD AND CYRIL RAMAPHOSA

The murder of Floyd has dramatised calls for reparation to Africa’s Diaspora in the Americas, Europe and Australia, writes Okello Oculi

I

n 1972 a book titled ‘’HOW EUROPE UNDERDEVELOPED AFRICA’’ was born. Its author was Walter Rodney, a Historian from Guyana teaching at the University of Dar es Salaam, in Tanzania. The book shattered racist Euro-American scholarship which claimed that Africa lacked industrialization; suffered from permanent poverty; high infant malnutrition and deaths, and high levels of illiteracy because the people are Black, obsessed with witchcraft, cannibalism and inter-tribal violence, etc.

Rodney did research for his doctoral degree at London University on the history of West Africa. He later made public speeches on street corners in Kingston, Jamaica’s capital; calling these sessions: “GROUNDLINGS WITH MY BROTHERS’’.

He shattered lies about Africa used to humiliate and crush self-confidence in Black-skinned peoples in the Caribbean to justify rule by European descendants of slave owners. One silly lie was that Africans lived on tops of trees.

He excited audiences with reports about African Kingdoms of Mali, Ghana, Benin, Zimbabwe, and the Oyo Empire. He announced that the University of Timbuktu had existed when Europeans were still barbarians. For Jamaica whose Black population constituted over 90 per cent of the population and a tradition of slave revolts, these speeches alarmed European immigrants who owned the most fertile land.

Rodney was deported from Jamaica. Fidel Castro asked President Julius Nyerere to employ him at the University of Dares Salaam where he met Marxist scholars from Eastern Europe, notably: Tamas Tzentes. He turned from emphasis on psychological and cultural power to Africa’s economic power.

Julius Kambarage Nyerere, however, asserted that African culture was rooted in Socialism and Karl Marx celebration of capitalism accepted its cruelties, selfishness and exploitation of Africa. Africa’s independence came with the responsibility to be intellectually self-reliant.

This position contradicted Walter Rodney who saw his intellectual responsibility as that of using Karl Marx’s insights to expose historical tunnels dug into Africa to drain away human bodies, raw materials, and financial wealth into Euro-America.

Rodney’s perspective associated him with the Soviet Union whose leaders resented Nyerere’s intellectual arrogance and friendship with Mao Zedong who himself won power in China for socialism with guerrilla armies of rural peasants. Tanzania and China lacked industrial ‘’proletariat’’. Mao also supplied military weapons to Robert Mugabe’s peasant-based guerilla war.

In 1976 my passport excited Black Immigration officials at Guyana’s airport. They rushed me into an official vehicle conveying a visiting delegation from Yugoslavia; saving me from taxi sharks, and offering me a free room at the Hilton Hotel.

THE 2020 RAVAGES BY COVID-19 IN SOUTH AFRICA UNDERLINES WASTAGES INFLICTED

BY POVERTY AND ‘STRUCTURAL RACISM’.

AFRICA’S CIVIL SOCIETY; DIPLOMATS AND ACADEMIA MUST VIGILANTLY EMBRACE RODNEY’S LABOUR

The Afro-Guyanese receptionist at the Hilton proclaimed his admiration for ‘’Field Marshall Idi Amin Dada’’, the African leader who defied Britain and expelled hundreds of thousands of Asians from his country’’. That enthusiasm and free use of the telephone turned to a nightmare when he heard me ask the telephone operator for access to Professor Walter Rodney.

I had been warned about Rodney’s lack of popularity with Prime Minister Burnham’s government. The frightened receptionist smiled again when he called the boss of a paramilitary unit and heard enthusiastic welcome in his voice at the mention of my name.

Rodney had returned to Guyana and started a multi-racial political movement. Burnham had won successive elections with the help of British officials rigging votes cast in Guyana’s Embassy in London by Black Guyanese immigrants living in Britain.

In Guyana itself, Indian voters outnumbered Afro-Guyanese.

Britain feared that the Marxist Indian politician who ran against Burnham was likely to allow the Soviet Union to build a naval base in Guyana, the sacred backyard of a NATO giant: the United States.

Banned from jobs in Guyana, Rodney’s income came mainly from delivering lectures at Canadian and American universities.

In April 1977, he was on the Madison campus of the University of Wisconsin. I urged him to accept President Robert Mugabe’s invitation to develop new textbooks for schools and colleges in Zimbabwe. A bomb inside a radio killed him on 13th June, 1980.

His book exposes strategies used for draining Africa’s resources to Euro-American economies; urging Africa to demand REPARATIONS for a drainage which started with the European slave trade; de-industrialization under colonialism; current debt cobwebs; drainage of talent from Africa; blocking industrial growth; and use of viruses to depopulate the continent.

The murder of George Floyd has dramatized calls for reparation to Africa’s Diaspora in the Americas, Europe and Australia.

Rodney’s call for blocking tunnels of exploitation must inform Cyril Ramaphosa as the current head of the African Union. The 2020 ravages by COVID-19 in South Africa underlines wastages inflicted by poverty and ‘’structural racism’’. Africa’s Civil Society; diplomats and academia must vigilantly embrace Rodney’s labour.

Rodney’s brilliant labour must flow into classrooms, lecture halls, government offices, corporate offices and civic associations to feed the ‘’African Renaissance’’ now in Cyril Ramaphosa’s charge.

A TALKER OR A WALKER? Kassim Afegbua gives little applause to the Obaseki government in Edo

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ometime ago in 2017, I had an audience with Governor Godwin Obaseki which afforded him the opportunity to dissect his supposed developmental blueprint to me and sounded so re-assuring as one man who was prepared to take Edo development to the next level. I commended his initiatives and looked forward to their translation from blueprint to actuality. Amongst what he said was building a brand new dual carriage road from his proposed Gelegele port down to my community of Okpella, as Edo industrial hub. Okpella boasts of two cement factories and a corterie of other subsidiary factories that deal in vedspar, limestone, and granite.

When I left Governor Obaseki, I decided to write a piece in this column to expatiate and simplify his agenda. He had raised my hope as I was thirsty to see his blueprint translated for the benefit of humanity. Three years down the line, that blueprint remains a pipe-dream. Instead, at different times, he threatened to shut down BUA cement in my community, that has upscaled Okpella economy through employment generation and empowerment. The Benin Industrial Park whose foundation stone was laid by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo is grown with weeds as a consequence of abandonment. It is located at Benin-Sapele by-pass. Okpella proposed industrial park has not even been located let alone commenced. Aside from the billions of naira paid by BUA cement to Obaseki’s government, internal revenue from Okpella runs into several millions on a monthly basis. Comrade Oshiomhole started Okpella roads and built part of them, with the expectation that his successor Governor Obaseki would conclude them. The roads

have deteriorated further as a result of erosion and flooding. Despite assurances by Governor Obaseki that he would complete the construction, the parlous state of the roads remains unpardonably disturbing.

When he visited Okpella and BUA plant, sometime in 2018, Okpella youths were agitated and accorded him hostile welcome.

He left Okpella and declared 104 youths wanted. He locked three of our Palace Chiefs in Oko prison just to make the point that he has the power of arrest and jail. Those chiefs spent three months in Oko prison before reason prevailed for their release. It took my personal intervention for the 104 youths to be let off their wanted status, through engagement and assurances that I would act as guarantor for them all. Okpella youths hate injustice and would do anything within the ambit of the law to protect the industries that have become veritable platforms for jobs creation. But the government that has enjoyed so much revenue from the factory, would rather threaten the owners of BUA cement to relocate the factory to the North.

It has been a ding-dong affair for quite sometime with one litigation after another to whip BUA in line.

The same scores for the agricultural project that so much has been touted about. When I personally visited the Sobe Maize Farms sometime in August 2018, shortly after I joined the PDP, I saw a direct opposite of the claims of government. I was wondering if the Sobe Maize Farms was located elsewhere. Some of the Edo farmers who should enjoy the gains of Central Bank of Nigeria’s intervention, are complaining of being neglected by a government that prides itself as pro-agriculture. College of Agricul-

ture, Iguorhiaki, which should be a resource center for formal acquisition of knowledge in agriculture, has been under lock and key for three years, on the lame excuse that the government wants to refurbish it.

College of Education, Ekiadolor, which was transformed to Tayo Akpata University of Education by the Adams Oshiomhole-led administration has been under lock and key.

Thanks to TETFUND assisted projects that have given the institution some face-lifts.

There are verifiable tales of failed promises to the Edo youths, market women whose markets got burnt, and the artisans.

Edo is beautiful on paper in Governor Obaseki’s world of fantasy, but allow the rains to pour down, you will see the ecological danger that threatens the people especially during rainy season. Reason: Governor Obaseki abandoned the Benin City Storm Water Master plan which was started by Oshiomhole and which ought to become one of the legacy interventions by a succeeding government. Benin City flooding has continued to dig deeper into the mould.

Governor Obaseki has not desilted the drains - both primary and secondary drains since the due date of March 2017. A lot of the reclamation works have been covered up and the government appears helpless to think through this perennial problem. It will rather renovate and repaint old secretariat buildings to create the impression that Edo is working. When Comrade Adams Oshiomhole reclaimed the 5-junction through massive underlay of pipes and rechanneling of the entire flood planes, the people around the area sang songs of hosanna. From a death trap, 5-junction became one of the finest roundabouts in the City till date. About

13 streets were reclaimed in that locality with well-paved roads and street lights.

Before I depart for today, let me interrogate the EdoBest education initiative which so much hype has been given. During this Covid-19 pandemic, the state government announced to the whole world that Edo State school children were already keying into e-learning. How can government talk about e-learning when the state is not wired or internet? How can you talk of tele-learning, when electricity is epileptic in most parts of Edo State? How can you talk of e-learning when more than half of our schools cannot boast of computer education or knowledge? What the government does is to assemble a few students in one of the schools in Benin City, hand them ipads or laptops, pose for photographs and send them to their foreign partners to show them that EdoBest is on course. Most schools in Edo State, primary and Secondary schools do not have sufficient teachers. It was the reason Adams Oshiomhole set up the Agbonlahor-committee to recruit qualified teachers to shore up the gap. By the time the Committee was done with the assignment, the government had two months left to exit.

In the spirit of continuity, Oshiomhole had thought his successor would continue with the recruitment exercise and absorb them into the state civil service. Till date, the list has been abandoned on the shelves, gathering dust. Schools in my community cannot boast of sufficient teachers. How can a whole school have three teachers from JSS to SSS, in an era that the government talks about EdoBest?

Afebua was a former Commissioner for Information in Edo State

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T H I S D AY ˾ THURSDAY, JULY 9, 2020

EDITORIAL RANCHING: THE ENUGU EXAMPLE The Enugu State cattle ranch holds lessons for the nation

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or several years, well-meaning Nigerians have canvassed ranching as panacea for the incessant herder-farmer clashes. These clashes have resulted in wanton killings, plundering and pillaging across the country. Sadly, rather than accept that nomadic pasturing is anachronistic and that ranching is the way to go in our quest for food security and job creation, the federal government has groped from grazing reserves to cattle colonies, Rural Grazing Areas (RUGA), and lately, the National Livestock Transformation Plan (NLTP).

The state governments have equally paid a lip service to the reality. Even states such as Benue and Taraba, which enacted the Open Grazing Prohibition and Ranch Establishment laws, have not facilitated any private investments in modern ranch or even set up one themselves to pilot the much-talked about solution. The result is that herder-farmer clashes have continued unabated, while Nigeria loses out in the highly lucrative ranching business and cattle-related agro-allied sector.

According to the Nigerian Metrological Agency, desertification and land THE PREVALENT NOMADIC degradation arising from CATTLE REARING CULTURE drought affect more NEGATIVELY AFFECTS THE than 350,000 hectares QUALITY OF OUR CATTLE of arable land annually, while a research by the IN TERMS OF WEIGHT, University of Ibadan MILK PRODUCTION, AND shows that15 of the EVEN THE QUANTITY AND 19 northern states QUALITY OF MEAT are struggling with desertification. Additionally, Lake Chad, which is a major source of livelihood for North-east Nigeria and parts of Chad and Cameroon, has shrunk from 25,000 square kilometres in 1960 to about 2,500 square kilometres today. These have acerbated the murderous struggle for resources. So, the anti-grazing laws and ranch establishment laws will not on their own arrest the herder-farmer clashes unless practical steps like ranching are taken to properly harness and manage diminishing resources for the good of the country.

Letters to the Editor

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Magu And The Abuja Power Game Continued from backpage oing forward, there should be an amendment to the EFCC Act to remove the limitation on the pool from which the president can nominate its chairman. The commission should not have to be headed by a serving or retired police officer, as is now the case. As I warned in the past, a Gotcha approach to fighting corruption, which Magu and some of his predecessors seem to favour, can only provide momentary entertainment. What our situation requires is a thorough, methodical and strategic war, anchored on the rule of law. You need people of a different orientation than police personnel for such assignment. Perhaps the tenure should be reduced to one term of four or five years to encourage occupants to put in their best from day one, instead of playing the game of reappointment. This may also be an opportunity for the president to investigate other people in his government who have been accused of sundry acts at odds with his professed agenda and reputation.

More importantly, the call for the reforms of Anti-Corruption Agencies (ACAs) requires urgent attention. In a statement by its Executive Director, Auwal Ibrahim Musa (Rafsanjani) yesterday, the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC) argued that the current system “is prone to mismanagement,

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ccording to the UN Food and Agricultural Organisation, Nigeria’s cattle heads in 2018 was estimated at 20 million, about 1.36% of the global total and the fourth largest in Africa, after Ethiopia, Sudan and Tanzania. About 88.5 per cent is consumed as meat. Also, whereas every part of a cow is very valuable and lucrative to support a thriving industry, the current cattle rearing practice in Nigeria is extremely unproductive and yields little beyond the meat. For instance, whereas products like cheese, butter, and milk are everyday staples in Nigerian homes, and whereas the hides and skin are key to the shoe and luxury goods industry, Nigeria imports virtually everything.

Only a paltry 11 per cent of the estimated 20 million cattle population is used for diary production and most of these breeds are imported, usually from Netherlands and South Africa. Thus, the nation spends between $1.2 billion and $1.5 billion on importation of dairy to make up for the overwhelming shortfall. This is not surprising because the prevalent nomadic cattle rearing culture negatively affects the quality of our cattle in terms of weight, milk production, and even the quantity and quality of meat. Our cattle weigh a maximum of 300kg and produce about 1.5 to 2 litres of milk daily. But in Kenya where cattle are managed in ranches, they weigh between 700kg and 1000kg with daily milk production of 30 litres.

It is, therefore, commendable that the Enugu State Government has embarked on the construction of a modern ranch for breeding of Efi Igbo (Muturu Cattle) specie indigenous to the South East. Apart from addressing the protracted herder-farmer clash, this initiative will boost food sufficiency, stop capital flight, promote industrialisation and generate employment for young entrepreneurs. It is something the federal and other state governments should emulate. Meanwhile, we enjoin the Enugu State government to consider the concerns of some well-meaning citizens on the need to ultimately encourage private sector equity in this ranch initiative to ensure profitable management as well as survival beyond the current administration. But in all, we commend the government for the foresight.

embezzlement and political misuse” since there “is no clear framework on who takes custodian of recovered assets and how they are utilized.”

The federal government, according to Rafsanjani, “has claimed recoveries of assets worth billions of dollars without accounting (for) who manages these assets, how these assets are utilized and what prevents the re-looting of looted assets.” He added: “The control of lucrative asset recovery ‘business’, confiscations and repatriations has caused inter-agency rivalry among ACAs saddled with the responsibility of fighting corruption.”

Finally, a well-functioning government requires a certain level of cooperation and collaboration between and among senior officials in critical positions. Sadly, that is not the case with this administration. Where mutual suspicions and recriminations run high, as we have witnessed in recent years, the only person who can call a halt is the president. His seeming unwillingness to doing just that has divided the federal government in a manner that jeopardises efforts to tackle pressing challenges. With only two years to go before the 2023 campaigns begin, the administration needs everyone to pull together, not apart, if the president is to deliver his mandate and cement his legacy.

I hope President Buhari makes a course correction. Before it is too late!

Olusegun Adeniyi, Abuja

Buhari, Magu And The Fight Against Corruption

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igeria President Muhammadu Buhari sought power desperately; in fact, he contested for the top office severally and failed. While challenging the victory of one of his opponents he was seen weeping in court, but he later fulfilled the dream of becoming Nigeria’s leader. Currently he is serving his second term as a democratically elected president.

Buhari’s core agenda is to fight corruption and eliminate corruption in Nigeria. He quickly introduced the whistle-blowing system for calling out the corrupt elements in the society. The whistle-blowing policy paid-off as few corrupt elements were exposed; however, it was short-lived for dearth of enabling structure to sustain the “idea”. Apparently, it came and disappeared like a shooting star.

To further leverage the existing established structure birthed by the Obasanjo-led administration President Buhari appointed a man considered to be incorruptible as the new anti-corruption Czar. So much noise was made about him, even when the National Assembly severally kicked against Ibrahim Magu’s selection and continuity in office the President remained adamant, created the impression that the members of the National Assembly were

corrupt, and needed to be investigated by the same Magu. Few Nigerians may be wondering why Magu remained an acting Chairman for the EFCC after several years.

Sadly, after five years of Buhari’s administration, there are problems with Magu’s appointment as the Chairman of the EFCC. His suspension attests to that.

Apparently, Buhari wasn’t prepared to be Nigeria’s President. All he had was the passion to lead the complex entity called Nigeria out of some motives which many could perceive as selfish. Nigerians should remember that he was forcefully removed as Head of State. That must have informed his resolve to get back to Aso Villa at all costs without having a clear-cut agenda and having certain select people in mind who will revolutionize the problematic sections of the Nigerian entity. One of these sensitive areas is the issue of corruption.

Buhari has failed almost on all fronts; he has not been able to decimate the Boko Haram terrorist group; even worse, while many well-meaning Nigerians called for the removal and replacement of service chiefs he remained adamant and played the same card he played at the National Assembly when they refused to confirm Ibrahim Magu.

Nnamdi Abana, Lagos

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T H I S D AY ˾ THURSDAY JULY 9, 2020

POLITICS

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

‘I Represent an Alternative to a Failed Government in Ondo State’

Martins Ifijeh holds a conversation with Eyitayo Jegede, a frontline gubernatorial aspirant of the Peoples Democratic Party in Ondo State on the readiness of his party to claim victory and provide better governance

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of the poverty of our people. An average person whose monthly income is below N2,000, N2,500 or N10,000, was offered N5,000 at the point of voting, meanwhile this gentleman or woman had not taken a meal for two or three days and yet he has a voter’s card and the politicians know such an electorate is easy to manipulate.

When our people took money during the last election to vote for APC, little did they know that they were voting for the destruction of the future of this state. As soon as voting was concluded, the first step the government took was to increase school fees and hospital bills, forgetting that these are basic things that should be free because the primary purpose of government is the welfare of the people.

hat are the factors that will define the next governorship election in Ondo State?

First, we must understand that in any democracy, people determine who governs them and the essence of democracy is to make comparison between previous governments and the present. In that case, the populace will have to weigh their options, whether their lives, economy, security, health system or education have improved or not in the last three and half years. If there is no improvement, the obvious yearning of the electorate is to have a better government in place. That in itself is what is going to drive the next election.

This election is going to be an evaluation and assessment of the Governor, Arakunrin Akeredolu’s government and the All Progressive Congress (APC). The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as a party does not only have a great chance of success but has an opportunity to come to the rescue of Ondo people.

Is the decampment of the Deputy Governor, Adegbola Ajayi not a game changer for the primaries in your party?

There is no cause for alarm because we are running a democracy. If APC is a winning party and a good platform, the gentleman will not move to the PDP. If he has a good chance of success in APC, obviously he won’t contemplate moving to PDP. If he has a cordial relationship with his party men and his boss, he will have no cause to say he is moving. We are not afraid of the competition. Now, the trajectory in the last few years is obvious for anybody to see and I say this clearly and with all sense of responsibility that before 2019, APC had all the structure in place but that has changed now.

You will recall that with the 2015 election, APC had all the three senators, but with the elections of 2019, it lost two. Even the one they retained is obviously not in good terms with the structure of the APC. In effect, the APC has no senator in reality.

Secondly, you will recall before the 2019 elections when President Muhammadu Buhari’s government came in, APC had majority of lawful votes, according to them. But in the 2019 elections, which is an assessment of the APC government, the PDP defeated the APC with a wide margin.

The PDP scored the highest number of votes in the election of 2019 despite the fact that Buhari is still in government. And again, this is despite the fact that Akeredolu is the governor and still in government on the platform of APC. They had majority in the House of Assembly and all 18 local government caretaker chairman Akeredolu appointed. Ondo is the only state in the Southwest that recorded the highest margin for Atiku’s PDP. In that process, it was my privilege to be Director-General ofAtiku’s campaign organisation in Ondo State, and the PDP clearly defeated APC. In that process, the PDP was able to produce three House of Representative members and some members of the State House of Assembly.

If the governor’s performance is satisfactory, all these agitations will not have come in. There is a crisis of confidence if not a vote of no confidence on this administration, not only from PDP, but majorly from APC itself. So, when you have these destructive tendencies within a political party, it is obvious that those claiming to be administering the state really do not have time for the state.

That is one of the reasons very outrageous fees are imposed on our students in tertiary institutions. Before APC came in, the fee was N35,000 or there about, but when they came in, the first thing they did was to inflict pain on the poor. And summarily, without any iota of conscience, the governor insisted that even the poor must not only pay for education of their children, but must pay through their nose. And what is the effect of this? First, lots of our young lads have dropped out of school.

Two things I have conquered: Greed and selfishness. And that is what our people want from us. Go to our health centres, it has practi-

Jegede cally crumbled. There was this five-year old girl who sought medical attention because she had appendicitis. They insisted she must pay N17,000 or N22,000. This is not a story that I was told; this is what I saw because I was partly responsible for trying to pay the medical bill.

Before operation, they insisted she must pay another N22,000 before taking her to the theatre.

We paid for the surgery and it was successful.

When she recovered enough to go home, they said she must pay for pharmaceutical and laboratory services. She didn’t have the money, so they put syringe in her body and tied it up so that she will not be able to leave. After we paid that, they still didn’t allow her leave, claiming the pint of blood they gave her must be returned. Eventually, the person that I sent there had to donate blood before she was allowed to go home. That is the kind of crisis we face in the health sector. All the gains of the past have been eroded. Unfortunately, our people are at the receiving end.

What are your chances among other PDP aspirants?

We operate a delegate system. The Constitution of the PDP has clearly provided for those that will form the Electoral College and they cut across the 18 local government councils.

As I speak with you, we have nine aspirants jostling for that ticket. Interestingly, I was the one that contested election in 2016, I had only one day to go because Court gave the verdict on Wednesday, we arrived Akure on Thursday

from Abuja , Friday there was no campaign, so, we had only Thursday and despite that, in the entire polling units in the state, there was nowhere that I personally appointed any polling agent. Those polling agents were appointed by the person who claimed they have tickets of the party. So, you can see that I operated from a disadvantaged position.

That was why we clamored then that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) should extend the time of the election, but in their wisdom, it refused. So, we went into elections practically with my hands tied at my back. We were, however, able to make impact, we came second. Ondo state desires people like us who are selfless.

What is PDP doing to resist the political merchants in the Southwest that worked against the party during the last election; using Ondo and Ogun cases as a reference?

We all learn from experience. The PDP is a matured party, made up of reasonable people at the top. Don’t forget that the suit we instituted against a faction of the PDP years ago was a watershed in the history of the PDP. That case itself resolved the crisis of PDP in the entire country, otherwise PDP will not be what it is now, God used our matter in Ondo State, up to the Supreme Court to resolve the crisis between Makarfi and Sherif factions.

I know that in elections, a lot of variables come into play. A lot of politicians will take advantage

We do not want to go the way of the past, where we had irreconcilable differences in PDP. The APC is having its fair share of these irreconcilable differences and I think we should keep the PDP holy in the sense of the word as an alternative to a failed administration. That is why I believe that this alternative is represented by myself because we are coming with a clear heart and mind to serve the people. I don’t know, if anybody wants to step down if he can step down. There is no harm if at the appropriate time, those who are aspiring also believe that those ones with previous experience, those ones who have been tested and trusted, like myself should be able to fly. PDP is a family and it will not cease to be a family because of primaries.

What we are sure of is the victory that lies ahead

What is the position of the PDP on zoning and how do you intend to run an all-inclusive government if elected?

Let me first address the issue of zoning before talking about inclusiveness in government. I have said it at several fora that this idea of zoning is just contrived by those who are seeking power and afraid of competition.

Coming to PDP which is the party I belonged to in 1999, when the new democracy started, the first candidate of the party was Dr. Olusegun Agagu of blessed memory, and he was from the South. Four years after, he tried his luck again, and then same in 2007. PDP in its wisdom also gave the same ticket to him when he was a Minister.

When PDP was giving out its ticket again, it gave it to same Dr Agagu from the South. At the next primaries, PDP gave its ticket to Olusola Oke still from Ondo South. The North or Central did not complain because we all believed that we should put our best legs forward.

Four years after, I was privileged to carry the party flag. What then followed was a challenge to my candidacy. The person that challenged me came from the South, so for God sake, where is this zoning coming from?

We are not afraid of merit and competition.

The only reason we are in this business is to offer good governance to our people and if some people think that they should deny people good governance on the premise of such contrived phenomenon, then I don’t think our people are so unwise to believe that argument. Zoning has no place in the constitution of the party, and it has no place in the regulations of the party. The party has always emphasized on democracy.

You asked about my level of preparedness.

Our people are very reasonable; they listen to all the aspirants and see what they have to offer. We have learnt a lot of lessons. You will recall that in the 2016 election, I passed through a lot. I am now a seasoned sailor because we have learnt our lessons. I believe ultimately that God gives power; he gives to whoever he wishes.

There is this notion that delegates are neglected after the primaries, is this true?

There are institutions established to foster democracy, and delegate system is one of such.

The whole idea is to announce our democracy and leave people with choices. Those who are delegates are party men who want to contribute to governance which I think is their right to do.

Again, if you are in this business called politics, the person that carries the flag is only a pilot of a plane; he does not own the place. When I am given the flag, I am given the flag for and on behalf of the people. Delegates constitute the bulk of these people and God willing, they would be able to participate fully in all decision-making levels of governance. They will also be able to offer their own expertise and experience in governance. Be rest assured that in terms of quality contribution and comfort, the delegates would form part of the governance in all the true sense of the word.

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

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T H I S D AY ˾ THURSDAY JULY 9, 2020

POLITICS DISSENTING VOICE...IN HIS OWN WORDS ‘COVID-19 Pandemic is a Wake-up Call on Nigerian Festus Keyamo Just Tossed Youths’ The Ammo

Kayode Fasua discusses the ravaging COVID-19 epidemic, stressing the roles he believes the youths should play in bringing the society back on track with Mr. Armstrong ‘Tope Akintunde, an All Progressives Congress chieftain in Ogun State and a strong supporter of Governor Dapo Abiodun

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eing a young politician, what roles do you see the youths playing in combating the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic?

We are all in a very critical phase of life in the global sense of it. This is a disease that cuts across all races, cultures, ages, religions, classes, genders; just mention it. We are all exposed to a pandemic that had, since its outbreak, defied any known solution. But be that as it may, God created man and gave him the power to control his environment. That to me shows that as a people, we can collectively fight against any enemy, seen or unseen, if we are all sincere and resolve to achieve our collective goals.

When you say the roles youths should be playing in combating Coronavirus, I was tempted to ask myself; “What has the government been doing to empower the youth?” That is the salient question. It might sound a bit radical but that is the reality. You see, as it has been said repeatedly in many fora, this pandemic has exposed our ineptitude-our ignorance, greed, unpreparedness, lack of any meaningful ideology, large-scale corruption, insincerity and I can go on and on. Yes, the youths should rise up and do something to save the community, the nation and the world at large, but at what expense? To me, this COVID-19 ‘episode’ is a blessing in disguise. It will open our eyes to quite a lot of things and would make us stand and demand our fundamental rights.

It will also awaken and re-awaken the sense of responsibility in every sector of our daily and national life, and make us prepare better for any future occurrence. Right now, the youth, being the engine room of a nation’s development, should be at the forefront of the advocacy of enlightening and educating the people. They should channel their time, energy and initiatives towards getting the best out of this predicament, and contribute their quota in the fight against the dreaded disease.

But this also comes at a price: the youth should be empowered in every sense so that they have that sense of responsibility and belonging within the society. Look at what happened in Lagos State. At the beginning of the lockdown the so-called ‘One Million Boys’ started harassing innocent people-maiming and killing, all in the name of lockdown simply because they do not have any means of living and everybody was at home, hence they resorted to daylight robbery. It is that bad. Take a look at the case of Kano State too where ignorance, non-challance and many years of neglect have institutionalised the Almajiri system, to the extent that they do not see any reason why people should stay at home.

What I am driving at is that, the youths have, for long, been neglected and in the aftermath are the vices and uncompromising stands constantly being exhibited by many of our able-body youths. A lot rests on our youths at this crucial period and the only solution is to get them involved in policy-making, so that they too can contribute their own quota towards meaningful development.

What can you say about the activities of the Ogun State Government under the leadership of Governor Dapo Abiodun in alleviating the challenges faced by the people during this lockdown period?

Actually, like I said earlier, we are in an abnormal period where things were not going as they ought to. Everybody and every facet of life is affected by the pandemic and government as an institution is hard hit and governance itself is not spared. The irony of the whole scenario is that the bulk of the fallout is on the government. Right now, it is as if all aspects of governance is at standstill.

Akintunde Everything has been stalemated and all focus have been shifted on combating the virus and making the people safe. The state government is trying its best possible in setting up isolation centres and getting on top of the situation by mobilising medical personnel and also engaging the security agencies to enforce laws guiding the spread of the disease.

I also give kudos to them for alleviating the challenges in the provision of palliatives and other essentials. Again, credit must be given to the sensitisation activities of the government in the media and other information dissemination channels. We must not also forget the prompt action taken on fumigating public places all over the state, which has greatly put the spread of the disease at bay.

One thing we must also commend Governor Abiodun for is the relaxation of the lockdown to ease the effect on the masses. Although this comes with the risk of possible exposure of the people the more to the disease, but since the government cannot afford to lock down an economy which is being sustained by smallscale businesses, it is only wise that he gave the order and provided windows when people can briefly go out and take care of their needs before returning to their various bases.

With all these, can you say there has been tremendous improvement in the battle against the pandemic?

Definitely yes. The battle against Coronavirus is being fought from all fronts and thank God, the people are getting more informed and knowing more and more about the disease.

The government, starting from the Federal Government to State and Local Government, have collectively risen to the occasion. What I can only observe is that equipment for testing people to ascertain their status are still in short supply, which makes it a little difficult to know the actual number of people that have actually contracted the virus. I want to believe that there is a lot of carriers of the virus out there who are not aware they are harbouring it.

In the same vein, there are some people who are still ignorant of the disease and believe it is just another way of ripping the government off. This will pose a lot of challenges to the government, the health workers and the community, and the nation as a whole; because people are sceptical about submitting themselves for test for fear of being stigmatised. But, in all, I can still say we are not doing badly, especially in Ogun State, with its proximity to Lagos State which is one of the epicenters of the outbreak.

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

Businessman and politician, Iboro Otu dangles a couple of the contentious issues on the Nigerian and global stage, using a good dose of witticism to drive home his argument

‘S

unlight is the best disinfectant’, I heard. Paul Blanchard, one of the world’s leading PR expert said this to me last week in one of our zoom meetings and it stuck both in context and content. We were discussing the myriads of leadership challenges mitigating Africa’s democratic progress and prosperity, and possible solutions. There’s nothing private about public leadership, it needs sunlight.

Chief Olusegun Obasenjo, Nigeria’s former President, recently announced that Nigeria better get its steps right or risk a fall into chaos and disintegration. Seems the harbinger has come again, what say you? I say he’s been very good at it. After all, repetition is the mother of skill.

Also, certain stakeholders in the Nigerian political environment made a surprise announcement last week. A plethora of pro neo-Nigerians under the auspices of the National Consultative Forum promised to hold a formidable front cum 2023 political season, the timing couldn’t have been more right. Having learnt the hard lesson of preparation and timing, their cumulative experience would bring to bear timely intervention in mobilizing Nigerians towards political constitutional reforms that is citizen driven and should bring about a new Peoples’ Constitution for a new Nigeria... Sounds great! We’ll see...

As America reels under the firm grip of COVID-19, its citizens are locked out of Europe as a result of America’s mishandling of the epidemic.

Cracks are becoming apparent in the transatlantic relationship such that one is forced to ask, is a Sino-European relationship the future? No one would’ve thought in this lifetime, Europe could consider keeping America out and China in, but be that as it may, whether it is a COVID related decision or not, the significance of this European decision wouldn’t be taken lightly by America. And as tectonic movements in global power dynamics shift to the East, both Putin and Xi seem to have consolidated their hold on power. In very consequential moves, both leaders have abrogated peoples freedom and introduced tenure elongation for themselves.

Hong Kong is shivering under new laws while St. Petersburg has endorsed new terms for Putin. At the same time, the relationship between Europe and America is floundering, putting at risk their democratic symbolism at a time of great global economic, political and social uncertainty.

International and national events are happening faster than we can analyze and deliver - I bet by the time this get’s to print, something even more newsworthy would’ve happened to take its place. Now one is forced to take a cold hard look at reality in order to read the signs amidst the noise. Where is the world going? What is the future and how can we take advantage of it?

In one freak break dance, the global economy spun on its head and snapped its neck with little likelihood of coming round soon. One thing is certain, the coma will be long and resuscitation a 50/50 chance. Third world countries like Nigeria can’t survive a 50/50 chance; not with our thieving lot. The oxymoronic complicatedness of the situation, according to a 2020 Outlook publication by BlackRock, is such that as the world speeds towards deglobalization and geopolitical fragmentation, joint monetary and fiscal policy revolution is being accelerated at the same time. It’s like meaning is suddenly becoming meaningless. And who is best to steer a nation ship in such situation? Certainly not the crop of leaders we have, if you ask me.

Hushpuppi survived for years in Nigeria, it took social media, FBI and the Dubai police four months only to stitch things up, now I hear EFCC is also looking for him. Meanwhile, Festus Keyamo is battling it with a National Assembly led by his own party people, no Dubai Police, no nothing to come to aid, everybody just dey sidon look. Such irony. Just imagine that petrol refined in the Nigerian black market is cleaner than that imported from Europe, we simply could just legitimize and incentivize the

Keyamo blackmarket operators and voila! Imagine how much that would save us? Over here it seems incentives only go backwards.

Have you seen Apapa seaport environs lately?

Take a look at the aerial shots, afterwards you’ll just go inside and cry. Apapa has been that way year-after-year, decade-after-decade in a country inundated with 30+ feet deep oceanic coastlines. NNPC 2020 report on Kaduna refinery is another one. #ThisIsNigeria for you. So many low-hanging cash-cow fruits everywhere, but Instead, to buoy their s(t)inking coffers, our greedy cockeyed politicians have released rafts of tax increments, stamp duty receipts on everything amidst the grinding socio-economic situation, I wonder what’s left to release, the Kraken maybe?

Jokes apart, just when one would’ve thought living standards should have a concession, no, they’re tossing and turning us in different positions like an English omelet; such kinkiness!

Living in Nigeria on its own should be a paid profession.

But just like in the days of old, real change always must start from the cross. At some point, our war of words must be matched with sacrifice. Where is our charging calvary? Fighting corruption and in bad leadership in Nigeria is dangerous but at the moment the ingredients are complete and in the right molotov mix. But if you are tired of this “under-under passi- passi, sidey-sidey passi-passi“ snookering, gather here, Festus Keyamo just tossed the ammo, let’s see what you neo-Nigerians can make of it.

Third world countries like Nigeria can’t survive a 50/50 chance; not with our thieving lot. The oxymoronic complicatedness of the situation, according to a 2020 Outlook publication

by BlackRock, is such that as the world speeds towards deglobalization and geopolitical fragmentation, joint monetary and fiscal policy revolution is being accelerated at the same time. It’s like meaning is suddenly becoming meaningless. And who is best to steer a nation ship in such situation? Certainly not the crop of leaders we have, if you ask me

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T H I S D AY ˾ ͷ˜ 2020

FEATURES

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

Online is a Lifeline Juliet Ehimuan

D

uring lockdown many of us did things we would never have thought possible from a distance. We saw friends and family, gathered round a screen. We studied in our kitchens and living rooms. We no longer went to work but work instead came to us. Online tools have been a lifeline. At least, that was true for the lucky ones among us. Those of us with access to the right technology were able to close the gap in space between us and the rest of the world.

This was true long before coronavirus too.

Digital technology has changed our world but its benefits are too unevenly spread. As the world emerges from the initial coronavirus crisis, this matters more than ever. Recent research has shown that as economies begin to rebuild, the ones that are best placed to thrive are the ones that can embrace new technology. Online tools and skills will be a catalyst for the comeback.

Governments are also looking at this challenge.

Speaking at a virtual meeting in May, the AU Commissioner H.E. Dr. Amani Abou-Zeid stated that the health and economic challenges of COVID-19 has reemphasized the need for African countries to expand broadband, cheaper and faster to the last mile of their populations”.

With a 33% jobless rate expected this year in Nigeria alone, we couldn’t agree more. This is the moment to ensure that as economies recover, opportunities are distributed fairly and that no one is denied the opportunity to thrive after coronavirus for lack of the right technology.

We have been working with governments, employers, and many more to put the power of digital technology in everyone’s hands and are now pledging to help 10 million people and businesses in Africa, Europe, and the Middle East benefit from digital before the end of 2021.

Firstly, we need to invest in people and their

skills to achieve a sustainable, inclusive economic recovery. Five years ago, we saw many young people out of work and a digital skills shortage.

So we announced a commitment to help 10 million people in African prepare for jobs of the future through our Digital Skills for Africa training program. Today we have trained over 3million in Nigeria, and during lockdown, we saw a 300% increase in those taking part in our training programs. Now, we are paying for 100,000 Google professional certificates on the Coursera platform which are designed to lead to digital-based jobs. Half of these certificates will be reserved for individuals from underserved groups who have significant barriers to learning (such as language, caretaking responsibilities, financial difficulties). To help people find jobs, we’re investing in our Job Search product and making available in more countries.

We must also ensure that the skills required to thrive after coronavirus are spread beyond just the biggest companies. Smaller businesses, after all, are the backbone of the African economy, accounting for 90% of all businesses on the continent.

Because of that, Google has provided $340 million worth of free advertising to SMBs across the world, $1 billion to support nonprofits and we have made some of our most popular tools both more useful and accessible for small businesses.

We made our premium video conferencing service, Google Meet, free for all to use. We made changes to tools like Search and Maps so that businesses could more easily update their customers about changes to their opening hours and other information, as well as making it easier to receive donations, sell gift cards and take orders online.

Now we are investing further to help businesses digitise faster, including access to free tools and capital for underserved businesses.

Where they are not already online, we are helping them build a digital presence. Then, with tools Grow my Store and Google my Business - now updated with COVID-related

Ehimuan

information and insight - we are helping them find new customers online and we’ve added over 10 features to support businesses affected

by COVID-19 since February.

We remain fundamentally optimistic about the future - about the role technology will have to help people, businesses and communities recover. Online tools have been a lifeline for people and businesses in lockdown and those

tools can help people learn new skills and find new jobs. But as the Nigerian economy begins its recovery from coronavirus, the responsibility to ensure we can all thrive is shared. Government, businesses and individuals must work together to help everyone benefit. rEhimuan is the Country Director, Google Nigeria

Five Ways Chatbots Can Improve Workflows in the ‘New Normal’ results, specialised chatbots in different domains can do the legwork for employees, thereby eliminating the need to search in the first place.

Andrew Bourne Consumer behaviours and expectations are constantly evolving. Today, people expect a high level of interactivity with the brands they deal with, whether it's a compliment, concern, complaint, or question via social media, or the ability to quickly reach out to a member of the customer support team.

This phenomenon is partly responsible for the rise of chatbots. Bots, by definition, carry out repetitive automated tasks, and in this case, they can deliver a personalised content experience, answer common customer service FAQs, and streamline product purchases. A look at the numbers indicates the chatbot sector is poised for remarkable growth. According to one market research company, the global chatbot market was valued at US$ 1.17-billion in 2018, and will skyrocket more than 800% to US$10.08-billion in 2026.

Chatbots are particularly valuable under this new paradigm of ultra-high consumer expectations, as they are a way for organisations to significantly improve their overall customer experience. They offer a number of workflow-related benefits to organisations that deploy them as well, such as: They increase conversational rates In today's everything-on-demand landscape, consumers want instant gratification. By using AI technology for conversational marketing, businesses can automate routine processes to engage with and assist customers more effectively, giving them an improved overall experience. When used for customer support, AI chatbots reduce the amount of time organisations need to invest in what can be a mundane task, while bots equipped with natural language processing capabilities can initiate conversations with customers to assist them.

Industry studies say chatbots can answer roughly 80% of standard questions, and they're also useful in gathering huge volumes of

They help organisations gather and maintain customer insights As chatbots interact with customers to deliver as seamless an experience as possible, they can also gather insights on customers and analyse variables such as purchasing patterns and habits. By monitoring customers’ patterns, businesses can learn more about the products and services individual customers prefer. They can also gain visibility into key areas such as common problems or issues with specific products or services, and make the appropriate adjustments on the fly.

Chatbots can also store and analyse information on the types of questions they are commonly asked. This makes the chatbot better equipped to answer future questions and upsell additional products.

Bourne

customer data across various channels and translating it into useful information and business insights that further helps personalise customer experience.

They eliminate time-consuming search strings While chatbots are adept at improving the experience for customers, they can improve the employee experience as well.

Chatbots have the potential to change the way employees across an organisation seek information. Take simple web searches, for example.

Traditional online searches can deliver results that may be irrelevant or otherwise useless to employees. Instead of listing hundreds of

They automatically push out valuable notifications AI-powered chatbots can intelligently predict customer behaviour, allowing them to push appropriate notifications to the right people at the right time. This sort of timely communication is a powerful marketing tool that helps businesses reach and retain customers.

Generally, there are two types of push notifications that are most common and most effective in engaging with consumers. The first is notifications on product updates. Chatbots can send customers messages about new product features, bug fixes, maintenance updates, or product usage statistics. In addition, chatbots can push out advertisements, discounts, deals, and sponsored messages to engage customers and get them to take action.

They automate everyday workflows Chatbot automation considerably reduces the time businesses need to invest in repetitive tasks such as pulling leads or parsing and

processing data. With chatbots, organisations can streamline a variety of business processes across all of their departments and teams. Instead of employees spending a significant part of their day completing routine yet essential tasks, chatbots can do it automatically and give teams more time to focus on human-centric, rewarding, revenue-generating activities.

Chatbots open up a multitude of possibilities for businesses of all sizes, and the technology will only continue to improve. It's one example of why AI should be part of every business’ arsenal. As always, those who embrace the technology and use it most shrewdly will be the ones that come out ahead.

Andrew is Zoho's Regional Manager for the Africa region and is based in Cape Town, South Africa. He has more than 15 years of experience in sales and marketing, and has spent the last five years focusing on the implementation and testing of various business technologies. He is very passionate about Zoho and has exceptional insight into the business and marketing world.

About Zoho With 45+ apps in nearly every major business category, including sales, marketing, customer support, accounting and back office operations, and an array of productivity and collaboration tools, Zoho Corporation is one of the world's most prolific technology companies. Zoho is privately held and profitable, with more than 8 000 employees. Zoho is headquartered in Austin, Texas. with international headquarters in Chennai, India. Additional offices are in the United States, India, Japan, China, Singapore, Mexico, Australia, the Netherlands, and the United Arab Emirates. More than 50 million users around the world, across hundreds of thousands of companies, rely on Zoho every day to run their businesses, including Zoho itself. For more information, please visit www. zoho.com. r Bourne is the Regional Manager, Africa, Zoho Corporation.

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T H I S D AY ˾ JULY 9, 2020

BUSINESSWORLD R A T E S

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MONEY MARKET OBB OVERNIGHT

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REPO 21.50 % 23.50 %

CALL 1-MONTH

22 % 25 %

Group Business Editor Obinna Chima Email obinna.chima@thisdaylive.com 08152447875

J U L Y

3 , 2 0 2 0

S & P INDEX INDEX INDEX LEVEL 1-DAY

S&P 568.88 % 0.84 %

1/4 TO DATE YEAR TO DATE

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N361/1US DOLLAR* *AS AT LAST FRIDAY

Quick Takes Smile Launches ‘MYSmile’ APP

SmileNigeriahasintroducedanewself-careAppcalledMySmileApp. MySmile App opens up a whole new world of convenience for Smile customers,accordingtothecompany.

Not only will customers be in control of their accounts, the new app would ensure that they exercise control where ever they are from the palmoftheirhands.

It enables customers to enjoy a wide range of services that include the ability to check balances, recharge data plans, recharge voice plans, recharge airtime,redeem airtime vouchers,share dataandairtime,and contactSmileCustomerCarewithoneclick.

Additionally,theappfacilitatesaccesstoSmile’sproductsandservicesfrom themobilephonesofcustomers.TheMySmileApp can be downloaded fromGooglePlayandAppstore.AfterdownloadingtheAppontheirmobile, customersareabletologinintotheAppusingtheirexistingMySmilePortal logincredentials.

ChiefMarketingOfficerofSmileNigeria,AbdulHafeez,saidthenew app would be a further testament to the company’s unflinching resolve to alwaysofferitscustomersunparalleledproductsandservices.Here-stated Smile’s transformativeobjective ofusing technologytoimprovelivesand enhanceoverallnational growthanddevelopment.

Founder Institute Graduates 23

CAPITAL RAISING

L-R: Managing Director, Prestige Assurance Plc, Mr. Sarbeswar Sahoo; Chairman, Dr. Doyin Salami; Non-Executive Director, Mrs. Funmi Oyetunji and Chief Executive Officer, Eczellon Capital Limited, Mr. Diekola Onaolapo, at the signing ceremony of Prestige Assurance proposed rights issue in Lagos…recently

‘Technology, SMEs Key to Climate Change Adaptation’ Stories by Emma Okonji Experts in sustainability and climate change have stressed the need for innovation as well as the full participation of SMEs in order to achieve low carbon and a resilient global economy.

The said this recently during a webinar on climate change, organised by African Development Bank, in conjunction with Natural Eco Capital.

With the theme: ‘Scaling Climate Action Through Technology and Innovation By SMEs,’ the experts called on the private sector in Africa to support African governments in advancing their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC), as part of their commitment to keep global warming below two degrees celsius.

TELECOM Sustainability and Climate Change expert, Dr. Eugene Itua, in his paper presentation, said most African governments have shown commitment and enthusiasm in the roll out of their NDCs implementation.

“National governments cannot do it alone. Everyone, including those at all levels of government, as well as business leaders, investors and civil society, must contribute to climate change,” Itua said.

According to him, the estimated financing for NDC in Africa, would run in trillions of dollars by 2030, a development, he said, called for collaboration between government and the private sector, while he further predicted that 75 per cent of

the total investment would come from the private sector.

He listed the private sector to include the formal large-business sector and the small-business sector.

Itua, further explained that involving the SMEs in climate action, would involve strategic and well-informed inclusion of the private sector, especially the small and medium size enterprises (SMEs) in climate change adaptation and mitigation planning and activities must be a key part of efforts to meet NDC targets.

“So by all accounts, in engaging the private sector for the climate-smart investments to support the various countries to meet their NDC targets, the SME must be seen as the cornerstone to grow climate business opportunities in

Africa,” Itua said.

Speaking on the effect of private sector collaboration in climate change, Itua said it would be an opportunity to ensure sustainable development and boost low carbon economic growth in the areas of new jobs, economic savings, competitiveness and market opportunities, and improved wellbeing for people with even greater investment, innovation and growth potential ahead.

Climate Finance and Risk Expert, Belynda Petrie, who spoke on ‘Toolkits on Climate Screening and Opportunities,’ said the objectives of Toolkits in addressing climate change, would include to deepen the understanding of business of climate change and climate action from risk, opportunity and implementation perspectives.

Experts Call for Health Policy Shift in Post Covid-19 Africa Global health experts and practitioners at a recent policy webinar hosted by the African Development Institute (ADI) have called for a “Marshall Plan on Inclusive Health in Africa.”

There was an urgent need for inclusive health policy in Africa – one that can detect and interpret warning signs and rapidly mobilise to isolate threats, absorb and adapt to shocks, and organically innovate new strategies to maintain its core functions, the delegates said.

“There must be a radical shift in Africa’s health policy from one that focuses on medical outcomes, to one that focuses on the broader concept of inclusive health – ensuring quality health from conception to end of life, to

TELECOM all people and all the time,” according to a summary document on the webinar’s outcomes,” they added.

The webinar, the third in a series of the ADI’s Global Community of Practice (G-CoP), brought together 565 global experts and 69 panelists from 50 countries.

The ADI hosted the seminar jointly with the World Health Organization (WHO); the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention; the Bank Group’s Health Department and Health Centre; the African Population and Health Research Centre at Murdoch University, Western Australia; Drexel University’s

School of Public Health, USA; City University of New York School of Medicine, USA; and the University of Nigeria, Faculty of Health Science and Technology, Nsukka.

Among the panelists were former Ministers of Health, Education and Finance from Africa, the staff of various Prime Ministers’ Offices, a Minister of Health from Western Australia, specialists from multilateral institutions including the World Bank, heads of health policy research institutes, teaching hospitals, think-tanks and private sector representatives.

Webinar participants encouraged the African Development Bank and partners to build support for the Marshall Plan

on Inclusive Health by engaging the private sector, academia and civil society.

African countries were urged to adopt WHO recommendations on frequent handwashing, practicing social distancing and wearing masks in public to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and other infectious diseases.

They should also scale up testing, contact tracing, isolation and quarantining COVID-19 patients, as well as restricting movement to minimise the virus’ spread.

“These basic personal hygiene practices are needed not only for containing COVID-19 but also for mitigating other communicable diseases that affect citizens of Africa,” said the summary report of the seminar.

TheLagoschapterofthepre-seedstart-upaccelerator,FounderInstitute, recentlycelebratedthe23studentswhosuccessfullycompletedCohortII,in anonlineversionoftheirVelocityeventthemed“WinninginUncertainTimes”.

Despitetheimpactofthevirus,thementorsandfoundersatFounderInstitute Lagoswereabletosuccessfullynavigatethehurdlestogetherandoutof the 46 that started the journey, 23 were able to meet the requirements forgraduation.

Velocity is a celebratory event of the Founder Institute Lagos held at the end of every Cohort to honour those that successfully scaled through the rigorous 14-week FI program which helps them build their ideas into successfulbusinesses.

Forthefirsttime,duetocurrentrealities,theprogramwasheldonlineand temporarilyrenamedVelocity_mini,andhadexperiencedspeakersfrom acrosstheworldwhoshareddeeplyonhowbestfounderscangrowtheir start-ups,evenatatimewhensomecompaniesandmarketsarestruggling duetoCOVID-19.

SpeakersateventincludedtheFounder,Fasmicro,Prof.NdubuisiEkekwe; FoundingPartner,VenturesPlatform,KolaAina;CountryManager/Regional SalesDirector,Avanti,JaneEgerton-Idehen;HeadStart-ups,LSETF,Tosin Faniro-Dada; andLeadDirector,FIAccra,SimonTurner.

Firm Launches Digital Business Card App

PoplNigeriahaslaunchedadigitalbusinesscardAppwhosemainfeature is to help individuals exchange phone numbers and social media handles suchasFacebook,Instagram,Twitters,Linkedinandothers.

SpeakingatthelaunchinLagosrecently,itsCountryManager,TopeSanni, saidtheapp,“isaninnovativeproductthatenablespeoplesharetheirphone numbersandsocialmediahandleswithinseconds.

“TheAppcomesinhandyandusefulinsharingcontactsandsocialmedia handles especially in this period of COVID-19, where we are expected to maintainsocialdistance.Thisappisgroundbreaking,innovativeandmaking wavesglobally.”

HealsostatedthatNigeria,GhanaandSouthAfricaarethethreemarkets in Africa where the app is gaining penetration, while noting that the app isenjoyingusabilityinSouthAmerica,Europe,NorthAmericaandAsia.

Sanni further explained that launching the product at this time was apt because of the increasing need for social interaction among people and especiallyintheperiodofCOVID-19wherepeoplehadtobeonlockdown forweeksandmaintainsocialdistance.

Ivory Coast’s Growth to Shrink

Ivory Coast’s gross domestic product growth is expected to slow to 0.8 per cent in 2020 compared to a previous forecast of 7.2 per cent if the coronavirus pandemic continues to the end the year, Finance Minister AdamaCoulibalyhassaid.

“TheinitialGDPgrowthexpectedat7.2percentin2020couldtumbleto 0.8percentifthecrisiscontinuesuntiltheendoftheyear,”Reutersquoted Coulibalytohavetoldaclosed-doorbusinessmeetingonMonday.Hesaid thebudgetdeficitintheworld’stopcocoagrowerwasexpectedtowiden duetothecrisis,whichhasmadeitdifficultforthegovernmenttorespect itstargetofthreepercentofGDP.

“The latest edition of Ericsson’s Mobility Report highlights Africa as one of the fastest growing mobile markets and reiterates the need for a more efficient technology, higher data rates and availability of ample spectrum” President of Ericsson, Middle East and Africa,

Mr. Fadi Pharaon

T H I S D AY ˾ ͷ, 2020

20

BUSINESSWORLD

INTERVIEW

Teniola: COVID-19 Presents Opportunity to Expedite Digital Transformation The President of the Association of Telecoms Companies of Nigeria, Mr. Olusola Teniola, speaks on the opportunities and challenges brought about by COVID-19. Emma Okonji presents the excerpts:

W

business-to-business (B2B) and it is to this segment where there was a ‘bust’ in business and where the greatest negative impact was felt. Remember every member has had to pay their staff salaries and keep their networks running 24/7 over the lockdown period.

So, the statement made by the FIRS is incorrect and I believe they are also aware of this as the statement was removed from social media platforms shortly after it was made public.

hat can you say that has been the general impact of COVID-19 pandemic on telecoms companies in

Nigeria?

COVID-19 has presented the industry with vast opportunities from the impacts caused by the government’s stay-at-home lockdown and recent relaxation of the same. Specifically, it has meant that data usage patterns and consumptions have placed considerable pressure on our members’ networks, traffic demand has presented a need for improvements in already deployed infrastructure and capacity and with the ongoing dependence on virtual online collaborative tools, it is evident that an opportunity presents itself to the industry to expedite the digital transformation that addresses the many gaps that have been identified over this period.

What major roles do Association of Telecoms Companies of Nigeria (ATCON) and ALTON play as industry bodies for telecoms operators in Nigeria?

ATCON is an advocacy body and it has been the voice of influence on behalf of its members since December 10, 1993 and that includes more than 160 member companies to date. Both ATCON and ALTON are very much instrumental in protecting the telecoms industry’s more than $70 billion investments made since the liberalization of the sector back in 2001. We provide our members with regulatory and government policy information in a timely manner and have contributed to the development of the Nigerian Broadband Plan 2020-2025. Over the years both bodies have spearheaded many initiatives with the most recent critical national infrastructure (CNI) and Right of Way (RoW) pushes that have begun to yield positive results.

The COVID-19 pandemic has altered plans and slowed business growth for industries in Nigeria.

What will you say has been the challenges faced by telecoms operators?

The recent release by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) first quarter (Q1) 2020 data of ICT contribution to GDP at 14.07 per cent, demonstrates the potential of ICT to be a driver for continued growth post-COVID-19 and the new normal. However, many economists and health experts have cautioned that this pandemic like the common flu in the United Kingdom and other colder climes is here to stay with us and this fact needs to be priced into the business plans of corporate Nigeria. The negatives to deal with and highlighted in the recent sustainability report submitted to President Muhammadu Buhari by our Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, is that consumer purchasing power due to millions of forecast job losses will have an impact on the propensity of consumers to spend household income on non-essential items. This will mean a potential reduction in the monthly spend on voice and data with a resulting impact on the positive results observed in Q1 for the telecoms sector. The forecast is for a ‘U’ shaped recovery for Nigeria by Q3 2021 if all recommendations noted in the recovery plan are implemented. The opportunity from COVID-19 for the industry is to ensure innovative funding, innovative pricing, and innovative financing of capital expenditure (capex) programmes are introduced to weather the imminent tough times ahead.

Globally, there is a supply chain challenge across the industry. How has this hindered the supply of critical equipment for optimal network usage?

We, as a country, are reliant on imports of finished products and goods and in the case of our industry this means 100 per cent import reliance on critical equipment. Sources for these were impacted by the shutdown of the supply chain management (SCM) during the lockdown period and as I speak, there is a backlog of at least 3-6 months at best for this critical equipment. It is also worth noting that further delays and backlogs will occur at our ports as only essential items were prioritized and telecoms equipment is not deemed essential by government.

Teniola

in the long run.

Do you think COVID-19 will have negative effect on the telecoms sector in the long run?

It is difficult to predict what will happen in 12-24 months’ time and no one knows the future. However, a likely scenario play that is prominent is that the price of data will be a determinant of where the industry takes a cue from. The arrival of potentially two more undersea cables berthing in Lagos by year 2022, suggests a likely wholesale data price shakeup especially in the middle mile, with Over the Top Technology (OTT) players seeking potential opportunities to increase the audience they can reach.

Consolidation is a thematic that will also play out to bring some economies of scale to provide the impetus for further infrastructure development as indicated in the Nigerian Broadband Plan 2020-25. The realisation of a digital economy signifies a positive upside

COVID-19 has presented the industry with vast opportunities from the impact caused by the government’s stayat-home lockdown and recent relaxation of the same

Bearing in mind the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on business, do you think this will affect the payment of tax by companies especially Telcos?

Yes, most definitely. Cashflow has been seriously impacted as seen by recent refinancing by some of our bigger players and members of ATCON. The fact that most of our members are focused on providing services to the enterprise market, it is very apparent that any cash in operations has been used to sustain their businesses despite the fact that a majority of their clients were shut down during the lockdown period and had their staff operating or staying at home. So in some cases clients cancelled contracts or simply put things on hold on new businesses and hence most of our members are strapped for cash. Those that have their heads above water are having to approach alternative sources of funding in the way of debt facilities to fund working capital. 2019 annual returns and taxes due will be under serious pressures and in most cases at least expected tax payment delayed and this requires a full understanding by the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) to work with those of our members under serious financial strain.

Recently, the FIRS said the telecom sector is among a few other sectors, currently experiencing a ‘boom’ due to increased transactions as a result of the lockdown. Is this statement correct, and in what ways has the sector grown this period?

This is not true in all cases. As already highlighted previously. There are only a handful of our members that purely rely on the consumer market alone. Most of our members focus on

There are insinuations that even the mobile network operators (MNOs) and InfraCos have had to take up additional costs as a result of the lockdown to ensure business continues smoothly as expected. What is your take on the effect of the costs, and what are these costs?

The biggest cost has been Right of Way (RoW) charges applied by certain states, followed by additional security cover costs due to interstate movement restrictions despite the Right of Passage that we were granted from the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA). Additional costs associated with personnel movement, which are not usual as part of everyday operations must be a factor in the overall costs to maintain and keep critical infrastructure up and running throughout the lockdown period. No exact figure has been released by our members; however, I am sure that Q2 figures will highlight these additional costs when they are released in July-August 2020.

We saw bigger commercial clients of smaller ISPs shutting down their offices for an extended lockdown.

How did this impact the sector?

We note that those members have seen a drastic decline in their revenue line, as their clients either cancelled their contracts outright or put them on hold.

The impact is likely to represent a 5-8 per cent decline on overall data services revenue for the industry and further negative impact on cloud-based service revenues in the enterprise segment.

In what ways do you think this pandemic will affect the overall performance of the Nigerian economy?

It is more than likely to have accelerated the pace at which the government has had to borrow to shore up its revenue. It also places a significant burden on FIRS to achieve its ambitious revenue targets and hence it suggests the economy will more than likely dip into negative GDP contraction alongside a negative growth rate. The COVID-19 pandemic has meant a slowdown in business activity as we know it and hence a review and focus on the way we do business will be defined as we transition into a digital economy.

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T H I S D AY ˞ ͡, 2020

Orji: Despite Covid-19, Second Niger Bridge, Other Projects on Course The Managing Director, Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority, Mr. Uche Orji, in this interview speaks on the 2019 financial performance of the NSIA, the authority’s investments in infrastructure, agriculture and health care, among others. Excerpts:

H

ow will you describe NSIA’s performance in 2019?

The international market was very positive for us last year.

Almost all the investments we made in equities, hedge funds and private equity performed well last year. A lot of the returns you see came from our international investments which are mostly denominated in dollars. We also recorded significant returns from our domestic investments. For the NSIA, 2019 was a mostly favourable year. In terms of net income, we made N34.5 billion in 2019 against N46.5 billion in 2018. But if you take out the exchange rate gain of about N18 billion, the real number for last year was actually N28 billion, which means that in real terms, we performed better. The real drivers are the gains that we recorded in foreign investments, and our domestic investments that have really performed very well. In 2020, the international market unfortunately got caught up with the Covid-19 issues. It has been a weak year in most markets. Nonetheless, I am still hopeful that the international market would recover from the throes of the virus. The first three months of this year were very challenging, but all through May and June, we saw what we considered as the early signs of market recovery. We are hopeful that the rest of 2020 will be much better because we have seen the market rally in May and June. The first three months of this year have been very challenging, but all through May and June, we saw what we considered as the early signs of market recovery. We are hoping that this will run through the rest of the year.

How has the Presidential Fertilizer Initiative (PFI) fared since inception?

There are a couple of developments that we believed had shown us the areas of scalable impacts for the benefit of our people in Nigeria. Our investment in the fertilizer programme is one of them. Agriculture is a vital sector in our economy which deserves attention at strategic levels. NSIA is playing its part through the Presidential Fertilizer initiative (PFI) and other agriculture focused programmes. I have read reports that say we invested N114 billion in PFI; that is not true.

What you should look at is the Annual Net Investment for the programme at any point in time. The PFI books show that the total annual investment is roughly in the region of N50bn. Out of this, the Net Annual Investment is usually about N20 billion, which consists of inventory and receivables while the balance of about N30 billion in cash. Once all the receivable and inventory are converted to cash, we re-invest for another one-year cycle.

Don’t forget that a critical component of this investment is raw materials which we fund for the blending plants to blend, sell, and return the cash to use from sales, and at the end of the day, we net it out. The investment, by the end of every year, would have been converted mostly to cash because all the sales would have occurred. The remaining would be in inventory and receivables. So, it is not a huge investment. Nonetheless, it is an impactful programme. To provide more specific context to the data, the investment made in fertilizer is as follows: in 2019, the actual balance sheet size of NAIC-NPK Ltd (the fertilizer subsidiary) was N57 billion; in 2018 it was N52 billion. For the 2019 investment, N27 billion was cash, and N9 billion was in short term investments, like treasury bills, which bring the total cash and near cash assets at hand at the end of 2019 to N38 billion. From the balance, N16.8 billion was in receivables, which represents the amount of money we expect the customers to whom fertilizer was sold to pay us back while the remainder of N4.6 billion was in inventory.

So, it is a very small investment. If you take out the cash, the actual net investments are in receivables and inventories which total about N20 billion. The cycle is repeated subject to approval each year the programme is renewed. So, when I read that N300 billion had been diverted, I asked how? That report is clearly something people made up and just put out maliciously. The Net Investment of the NSIA in fertilizer in 2019 was N20 billion period! This is how the scheme works: at the beginning of every year, we spend money to buy inventory, we import the raw materials and give them to the accredited blending plants to blend, and sell at a price agreed by the president. If that price is lower than our cost, we go to the Presidency and ask for

Orji

the shortfall to be made up. So, we never lose money on this programme. It is also impossible to divert any product under this programme. Whenever there is any attempt to steal or divert inventory of raw materials or finished products, we pick it up instantly and involve the authorities. The system is designed to trace every bag produced. It is audited by four groups of people–collateral managers, internal audit, and external auditors, and annually the Auditor General’s Office conducts spot checks.

What has been the beneďŹ ts of the fertilizer programme to the country?

In the last three years since we started this programme, we have blended and sold over 20 million bags of fertilizers. This year, as we speak, we have sold over five million bags of fertiliser and collected cash. Unlike the previous scheme, ours is cash-and-carry.

Buyers cannot pick up stock unless payment is made. No goods can leave the blending plant without being paid for. So, you can trace everything that is sold. With this scheme, farmers can actually get the products to buy as it is available at an affordable price. Notably, the local blending capacity is now over seven million metric tons. When we started, many of the plants were moribund. So unlike in previous regimes, farmers can actually get the products to buy. It is available at an affordable price. More importantly, with the resuscitation of the fertilizer blending industry, we have created hundreds of thousands of direct and indirect jobs across the agriculture value chain, be it in logistics, ports, bagging, rail, industrial warehousing, haulage touch-points and others. In the larger scheme of things, PFI was designed as an import substitution programme. This means that Nigerians can participate in the production process and derive value and pride from that. No longer does the country have to import fully blended bags of fertilizer to which no value-add has been contributed domestically.

To what extent has the coronavirus pandemic affected the fertilizer programme?

We have had difficulties this year with Covid-19 related issues. Someone died at Indorama and there were a few reported cases of suspected infections at the blending plants. On account of this, some plants had to shut down to undergo decontamination for weeks, and that has caused disruptions, especially at Indorama which is the sole supplier of Urea. The second disruption we have faced is the transit disruption due to the lockdown. Goods going from one state to the other are subjected to various checks, and a journey of two days now takes about seven days. Yes another disruption is the cost of transportation. Transporters are now using the transit issues as a reason to charge more money, which is impacting our

overhead. Sales have also slowed, owing to the lockdown.

This programme has delivered over 20 million bags, all accounted for and all audited since inception. We had planned for 12 million bags this year for NPK 20:10:10, but we are running quite behind for these reasons.

Despite the foregoing, the programme can be rated as very successful. When it started, Nigeria was not blending fertilizer; we were just importing and trading, and people were taking advantage of that and taking dollars out of the country. Sadly, the fertilizers were never delivered.

In the three and a half years that we have done this programme, apart from this year where we have had to contend with Covid-19 related issues, there have never been complaints about shortage of fertilizer. We have had fertilizer availability at the N5, 000 price that government wants it sold.

How much in terms of job creation, industry resuscitation and increase in yield for the farmers has the PFI programme accomplished?

When we started, there were barely four blending plants working in Nigeria. But, today, we have 32 plants with more than seven million tonnes of installed capacity.

As I said, we have created tens of thousands of jobs because of this programme. We have saved our country some foreign exchange because NSIA imports all the raw materials, and the Central Bank gives us the foreign exchange to import. So, you cannot now use this programme to start playing foreign exchange games as was the case under the previous scheme where fertilizer traders were also actively trading in foreign exchange.

There are people who do not like this because of the blockage of gains through the foreign markets, and who are fighting and pushing back but they cannot be allowed. We have gone from four plants to 32 and, by the end of this year, we will have 40 blending plants in Nigeria. While the investment is not massive, it is a prudent and effective system in terms of scale. This year, we are targeting the production of 12 million bags under the NSIA President Fertilizer Initiative, and another eight million non-PFI products.

That would sum up to 20 million bags this year.

Is the Authority on course to deliver the three road projects under the Presidential Infrastructure Development Fund (PIDF) as planned? Or will the delivery timeliness be modiďŹ ed based on the work done so far?

I will take the projects one after the other.

As you know, we are still working on the second Niger Bridge which has a scheduled completion date in 2022. We had spent about two years working on the substructure, the underground piling, which will guarantee stability and longevity. Today, we are working

about the water surface and you will see each of those pillars above water. Each pillar is 18 storeys deep. We have begun work, and the launch deck will cover the span of all 18 pillars. It will span from Onitsha in Anambra to Asaba in Delta. The entire length of the work we are talking about is 11 kilometres; the Third Mainland Bridge is 13 kilometres. Lagos-Ibadan expressway is going on; we are hoping to finish the LagosShagamu by the end of next year (2021), and the rest of Shagamu to Ibadan by 2022. The Abuja-Kano road project is progressing quite nicely, and we are on target to finish that by 2022. These projects are handled under PIDF, and here is how it works: the Presidency gives us some fund; we put it in as NSIA’s capital towards the project. We then shop for third party capital. For this, we will raise third-party funds through bonds. The NSIA will own the assets, the road projects, and operate them for about 25 years to recover its capital. We are going to toll all these projects. Because of the way it has been done so far, the Nigerian and the United States governments have agreed that $311 million of the money recovered from the late General Sani Abacha be spread in equal proportions to the three on-going projects.

So, you are going to see the US government assist in the supervision of these projects, and for us, it is terrific. There is going to be lots of transparency, and we are very happy that, after 18 months of due diligence, NSIA was worthy to be trusted with the recovered funds. So, you will most likely see us at the end of this year raising a bond for the Lagos-Shagamu road project. The financial plan is being worked out.

Recently the NSIA was reported to have indicated interests in reviving the Ajaokuta Steel Company and other moribund assets to enable the country to reap the beneďŹ ts of the huge investments which the government had made on them. How far have you gone in achieving these plans?

We are still very much interested in that.

You know that privatization is a little bit more complicated. The NSIA does not bid.

If something is out for tender, we do not tender. It is a rule we have made at the NSIA; and the reason is that if there is enough interest by the private sector, then let them do it. We only undertake projects wherein we can add values that no other can. So, we do not participate in tenders. If there is an opportunity to work in Ajaokuta, we will certainly do so. We have developed an industrialisation strategy which has now been affected by Covid-19. That plan is still there, but once things normalise, we will be more active in industrialisation. It is a key objective of the NSIA to play a role in revitalising essential entities, such as Ajaokuta, if the opportunity presents itself.

Based on the law setting up the Fund, the NSIA is supposed to pay dividends to its stakeholders if it returns proďŹ t consecutively for ďŹ ve years. When are you likely to start paying dividends?

We are willing to pay dividends to our stakeholders, but they are also aware that the fund needs to grow. So we have had conversations with some of them and have come to a mutual understanding that NSIA should keep re-investing profits because the country hasn’t yet built a savings base to support withdrawals from it. Our stakeholders have reiterated to us that the Fund is still small, and that we should grow it. Nonetheless, we have been profitable since inception, and we are delighted that our strategy has proved effective.

Will the Cancer Centre at Lagos University Teaching Hospital stop medical tourism for cancer?

Nothing will stop it. There are still people that prefer to go abroad for treatment for many reasons. But what we have built in LUTH is world-class, and I am happy when I go there because of the way it has been maintained and the services it provides to people. There is no need to go abroad if you have cancer in Nigeria. The facility at LUTH is world-class and the price is affordable.

Our price is less than 30% of the cancer centre built in Ghana.

Culled from thewhistler.ng

T H I S D AY ˞ ͡, 2020

22

AKK Pipeline Sets Stage for Nigeria’s Economic Stability Hamid Ayodeji

equity dividend and direct market returns on volume gas sales.

Also, the AKK pipeline flaunts all the attributes of industrial stimulus. Manufacturing capacity in Nigeria today is highly constrained by energy issues. Running manufacturing by liquid fuel is far too expensive and unprofitable; power supply for industrial activity is grossly inadequate. So the AKK pipeline holds potentials to feed power plants with adequate fuel energy to generate adequate electricity for homes and businesses. The pipeline can also directly feed industry and commerce with cleaner, cheaper gas energy.

In both ways the AKK pipeline is going to enable the industrial sector of the economy optimise its potentials for growth, job creation and contribution to gross domestic product (GDP).

T

he federal government under President Muhammadu Buhari has finally laid the long-awaited foundation for the country’s economic recovery with the activation of the AjaokutaKaduna-Kano (AKK) pipeline project.

The flag-off of the project addresses anxiety among Nigerians over government’s nonresponsive posture towards unending calls for congenial business environment. It also marked a significant leap in the implementation of the nation’s lingering gas infrastructure blueprint designed to enable the industrial sector of the economy optimise its potentials.

In flagging-off the project virtually from the State House, Abuja, President Buhari directed the Minister of State Petroleum Resources and Group Managing Director (GMD) of NNPC to authorise the Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) consortiums involving indigenous pipeline giant, Oilserv Limited, to commence construction operations at the project camp sites without further delay. “We promised the Nation that we will expand the key critical gas infrastructure in the Country to promote the use of gas in the domestic market. These include the Escravos to Lagos Pipeline System - 2 (ELPS-2), Obiafu to Obrikom (OB3) pipeline and the AKK. I therefore directed NNPC to ensure that these critical projects are completed on time, within budget and specification,� the president stated.

President Buhari summarised the key economic objectives of the project: “When completed, the AKK Gas Pipeline Project will provide gas for generation of power and for gas-based industries which would facilitate the development of new industries and also the revival of moribund industries along transit towns in Kogi State, Abuja (FCT), Niger State, Kaduna State and Kano State. “This will ultimately create numerous direct and indirect employment opportunities while fostering the development and utilisation of local skills and manpower, technology transfer and promotion of local manufacturing. The project is therefore part of the delivery of our Next Level Agenda for sustainable development and enhancement of the economic prosperity of our country.�

Policy Focus The AKK pipeline which was conceived as part of the Nigerian Gas Masterplan (NGMP) by former administrations of the federal government had remained in the policy shelf for nearly a decade. Its implementation by the present administration is a significant progress from the delivery of the ObiafuObrikom-Oben (OB3) gas grid development.

The AKK project was designed to enlarge the domestic gas market by using the energy demand from the northern parts of the country to enhance the commerciality of domestic market play and confer viability on investments in government’s gas commercialisation agenda.

According to the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), the gas commercialisation programme is meant to leverage on the nation’s huge natural gas reserve base to stimulate growth and enable Nigeria’s migration from the current mono-economy into a diversified economy.

The AKK project would enable the injection of 2.2 billion standard cubic feet of gas per day (bscf/d) into the domestic market upon completion, and facilitate additional power generation capacity of 3,600 megawatts (MW), the corporation said.

The 614 kilometer pipeline is expected to spark off economic activities that would ultimately deliver on a bundle of broad national economic aspirations in the petroleum industry through which the government targets to position the country’s abundant natural reserves as the key enabler for economic diversification from oil dependence.

Processes in realising the policy targets include clearly mapped out strategies to deepen the domestic gas market, arrest gas flaring at oil production sites, enhance national revenue through natural gas commercialisation, boost the Nigerian Content of the huge budget petroleum industry, and build sustainable energy infrastructure for the domestic economy.

Okwuosa According to the project profile from the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), the $2.592 billion AKK pipeline project will provide channel for the upstream and midstream petroleum industry operators to deliver their natural gas output into the grid and spur industrial evolution along the new pipeline corridors in northern Nigeria.

Economic SigniďŹ cance Energy is considered most critical among all factors of production, and acute shortage of energy has been the major bane of industrial and commercial enterprises in the country.

Thus the AKK pipeline is therefore considered a key factor in sustainably resolving issues of industrial energy for the present and future generation of Nigerians.

Before now, members of the Organised Private Sector (OPS) of the Nigerian economy, especially the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), had consistently called on government to provide critical factors of production to make investment in the Nigerian business environment attractive, and economically rewarding.

Leaders in the country’s OPS agree that the best response government has given to the agitation from the business community is to provide hope for production infrastructure that would make the domestic environment more attractive to investment. So, AKK pipeline when realised will be a sustainable factor of production that would enhance the local operating environment for business in the country.

The facility will also remain central to all aspects of Nigeria’s industrial development: boosting power generation, stimulating manufacturing activities and de-constraining new field development in the oil industry.

In the upstream sector of the petroleum industry, the AKK pipeline will enable more oil production by helping operators to meet the condition of zero flare development plans.

So, operators who have been held down by market limited destination for associated gas are now provided space in the AKK pipeline.

Again, expanding the domestic gas market with the AKK pipeline will boost investor confidence in the government’s flare gas commercialisation programme by providing ready offtake channel for harnessed gas. This strongly propels Nigeria’s drive to attain zero emission at oil production sites and probably enable the country exit the inglorious global greenhouse emission chart.

Again, the AKK pipeline promises double barrel economic advantage for the country by earning direct income for government and also helping develop indigenous industrial capacity by providing cheaper, cleaner and more sustainable energy. It will become a consistent revenue earner for all stakeholders including the government by operating a tariff based gas transmission services to assist producers’ wheel gas to market. It will also entitle government to tax income,

Nigerian Content Perhaps the biggest value is that the AKK pipeline holds the biggest valid testament to government’s commitment to the Nigerian Content Policy. Save the funding arrangement which necessarily entails Chinese content in the project, the full project scope would have been delivered by the indigenous Oilserv consortium which also delivered the even more challenging Obiafu-Obriko-Oben (OB3) pipeline on which the AKK pipeline is anchored.

More importantly, the involvement of Oilserv makes the project more realistic. The reliance on local expertise also makes the infrastructure more sustainable and cheaper in terms of long term maintenance plan. With the Oilserv consortium government would not suffer maintenance hitches similar to the impasse that plague the local refineries following the refusal of original builders to honour maintenance commitments.

It is therefore taken for granted that the Oilserv consortium would regularly be on ground to guarantee the integrity of the pipeline.

Chairman of the Oilserv Group, Engr. Emeka Okwuosa, said the consortium led by his company was working in concert to provide best in class EPC services for NNPC and Nigeria in consonance with the company’s track record of delivering world class pipeline construction even in most challenging terrains. “Oilserv is a100 percent indigenous company currently employing more than 600 staff. With this new AKK development, it probably will go to between 1,500 and 2000 at the peak of the personnel matrix. “But the fact remains that we are ready.

This is not the first project. We are commissioning the OB3 gas project which is slightly larger than this in terms of diameter. The OB3 is 48 inches in diameter. So we have the experience, we have the personnel, we have the equipment and we are capable and we would deliver this project.�

On the projects potential for job creation, Okwuosa declared that the company would significantly increase its workforce during the project’s time frame, adding that additional staff would be recruited from communities that host the project. “Like I said, we will crank up our employment by more than 1000 and major part of this 1000 will be indigenes of the areas where we are. We have a clear programme to develop the areas where we build pipelines.�

In advancing Oilserv’s performance profile in petroleum industry pipeline delivery, Okwuosa declared that the consortium is conversant with driving through tough and challenging terrains. “Every project comes with its challenges.

There are challenges in driving a project like this in virgin forests, to go through rivers, rocks, to deal with security issues. These are challenges but I don’t have fears because we have the knowledge and the experience to deal with it all. We are very ready to deliver the project and deliver the project on time.�

Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mallam Mele Kyari, vouched for the contractors selected for the project. “We are confident that the EPC contractors will deliver the project on time, within budget and to quality specifications,� he declared.

Mallam Kyari stated that “The current Administration under the leadership of His

Excellency, President Muhammadu Buhari has made it a priority to ensure revenues from oil and gas resources are utilized to support the emergence and growth of other non-oil sectors of the economy,� inferring that the pipeline is one of the economic diversification efforts of the government.

As Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State couched it, use of indigenous Oilserv consortium in delivering the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano pipeline project is one of the most significant economic stimuli that will catalyze growth activities in Nigeria in the prevailing coronavirus era.

The indigenous consortium of companies led by Oilserv Limited is to deliver the first phase of the 40 inch diameter pipeline which would run from Ajaokuta in Kogi State to KP303 between Abuja and Kaduna. The consortium is also to deliver a Terminal Gas Station (TGS) which is a 24 inch 15 kilometer spur line to a planned power station in Abuja.

Governor Bello’s applause for Nigerian Content of the project laid ground for him to take early lead in projecting graduates of his government’s technical training programme for absorption in the construction stages of the project, appealing that the involvement of the local youths would go a long way in building community stakeholding in the project.

Role for Host Governors The governor’s keen observations also amplified President Buhari’s call on the governors of the states that host the pipeline rights of way provide the contractors the enabling social and security environment to deliver the projects within the specified time frame. “I am counting on the Executive Governors of Kogi, Niger, Kaduna and Kano States as well as the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory to provide the enabling environment and support for the project,� the president appealed in his speech at the flag off event.

In reiterating the need for well-meaning Nigerians to support the pipeline project, President Buhari emphasized the need for the country to lay solid infrastructure for diversification of the economy in the face of emerging dangers of continuing to rely on crude oil export income. “The lessons learnt from the COVID-19 pandemic further underscore the drive of this administration for export substitution initiatives and projects that will promote local manufacturing. Consequently, harnessing and commercializing our vast gas reserves is an enabler for rapid economic development and diversification of the economy. This remains a cardinal objective of our Administration’s drive towards ensuring a stable, sustainable and more prosperous future for our citizenry,� the president stressed.

As currently planned, the AKK pipeline project is envisaged to be completed by 2023 when the tenure of President Buhari would elapse; a consideration that might have informed the short delivery time lines and segmentation of the contracts among consortiums that have simultaneously started work at Ajaokuta and Kaduna respectively.

Conclusion It is therefore strongly inferred that President Buhari is conscious of the need to deliver the AKK pipeline before leaving office; a strategy that would avert leaving behind another white elephant project that might build into the unenviable projects list that already contains well-conceived but stalled megaprojects like the Ajaokuta Steel Rolling Mills, Kogi State; the Aluminium Smelter Company Limited (ALSCON), and Nigerian Newsprint Manufacturing Company, Akwa Ibom State, just mentioning a few.

Although the pipeline runs into the northern parts of the country, its full economic chain connects the south by providing market and viability for gas production, processing and monetisation investments in the Niger Delta.

With its economic benefits connecting all sections of the country and integrating its full business cycle it is therefore critical for all stakeholders, including professional groups, business groups, political administrators and community stakeholders to support the AKK pipeline and enable it deliver full objectives and benefits for all.

23

T H I S D AY ˾ ͷ, 2020

BUSINESSWORLD

NEWS

AIG Partners NESG on Covid-19 Incidence, Response Tracker Oluchi Chibuzor The Africa Initiative for Governance (AIG) has disclosed that it is partnering the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG) and the federal government by funding the building of a Nigeria COVID-19 Incidence and Resource Tracker, Dashboard and Predictive Analytic Platform (Systems Platform).

The solution is expected to assist in the containment of the

Covid-19 pandemic in Nigeria.

A statement from AIG explained that the Systems Platform solution is expected to provide a robust, up-todate database of federal and sub-national resource and availability requirements for the pandemic response, based on the World Health Organisation (WHO) recommended resource specifications on packages for Covid-19.

The Chief Executive Officer

of the NESG, Laoye Jaiyeola, explained: “Once deployed, the Systems Platform will provide a National and Sub-National Inventory Management System that gives national visibility of what is procured, in-stock and out-of-stock across the federal and state testing, treatment and isolation centres.

“The real-time data provided will enable government, the private sector, international organisations and other donors

Firm Offers N20m Scholarship to Varsity Students Stories by Emma Okonji HiiT, an information and communications technology (ICT) training service provider in Nigeria, will be offering scholarship worth N20 million to interested Nigerian students at the tertiary education level, designed to support students and in line with the federal government’s Covid-19 economic palliatives.

The decision was part of the company’s resolve to support various governments’ initiates towards moderating the effect of the pandemic on the teeming youths who are currently idling away at home, to build ICT skills that are in global demand from home, and even begin to earn income.

Announcing the initiative, the Chief Executive Officer, HiiT Plc,

Mr. Kayode Shobajo, advised interested students interested students to visit the company’s website and apply for the scholarship by completing the application form.

The courses on offer include Digital Marketing, Web Design, Digital Literacy, Cisco Certified Network Associate, Python programming among others.

Shobajo, disclosed that unlike most other online training platforms, HiiT Online Training offers Instructor-led training coupled with other training methods including live interactive classes, videos, slides, whiteboards and simulation labs to impact IT skills that are in huge demands by employers.

“The teaching time and students’ interaction time mix are optimised to ensure the best

online learning outcome for our cultural environment. Our Instructors are highly skilled and well equipped to deliver lectures from their homes or anywhere they are comfortable.

With the online arrangement, government lockdown will not disturb our classes,” Shobajo said, adding that students can also gain access to the recorded classes at their own time from anywhere in the world.

Speaking further about some of the courses on offer, Shobajo said Digital Marketing enables students gain comprehensive understanding of all major digital marketing channels used today as well as create, launch, and analyze campaigns across a multitude of platforms, including Facebook ads, Google Ads, Google Analytics, and more.

to mobilise more effectively in providing the critical human and material resources needed to support the country’s response to the pandemic.”

On May 19 2020, the Presidential Task Force on Covid-19, which is constituted by heads of the Federal Ministry of Health, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) and other Ministries, Departments and Agencies of government endorsed the partnership between the AIG and the NESG for the development of the systems platform, the statement disclosed.

The platform is equally deployed in collaboration with the Nigeria Governors’ Forum.

“Beyond improving the transparency, accountability and governance of national resources co-sourced from public, private and development sectors towards the Covid-19 response, the Predictive Analytic Model embedded in the Platform will enable the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19, and the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) predict and project the rate of infections, deaths and consequent resource requirements,” a Director of AIG, Ofovwe Aig-Imoukhuede explained.

“This is key for the future of Nigeria’s COVID-19 response”.

In addition, the Systems Platform is expected to improve the National and State Health

Information Management System by adding the platform’s capabilities seamlessly to the country’s existing data ecosystem.

The overarching objective is to help in galvanising efforts at efficiently plugging nationwide resource gaps across the three priority areas of testing, treatment, isolation, contact tracing and tracking in the context of Covid-19.

The AIG is a not-for-profit founded to inspire the transformation of Africa’s public sector.

AIG works with governments, academic institutions and other partners to improve governance and transform public sector performance.

IHS Partners TechQuest STEM Academy on Training IHS Nigeria, in partnership with TecQuest STEM Academy, will train 1000 teachers and students across Nigeria in July 2020 under its Mission-T Program.

The one-month training would offer participants digital skills required to offer technologyenabled solutions with a focus on initiatives that will mitigate the impact of COVID-19 pandemic.

Mission – T is a sustainability initiative commissioned in 2019

by IHS Nigeria, the largest subsidiary of IHS Towers, with the primary objective of improving ICT education and empowerment in Nigerian schools and communities.

The program aims to improve Nigeria’s STEM narrative and

help stimulate interest and participation of teachers and students in Science Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) fields across the country.

As a response to the current COVID-19 crisis, participants would be equipped with requisite knowledge and skills to develop projects that can improve human existence in a post Covid-19 era, leveraging digital tools like the internet, software, and computers.

Additionally, the program will upskill teachers with the requisite capabilities needed to deliver effective teaching over the internet.

The program has also offered to provide free internet data to

the first 200 teachers and first 500 students to sign up for the training as a response to the current challenges being experienced during the pandemic and alleviate identified barriers to attendance and learning during the free training period.

Students will have the opportunity to learn mobile app development, web development and an introduction to python programming. Resources to be introduced to teachers include the practical-based Mission-T ICT curriculum, which includes textbooks, workbooks, academic videos, an interactive portal and a mobile app to assist teachers in the delivery of STEM education to their students.

24

IMAGES

L-R:Minister of Health, Nigeria, Dr Osagie Ehanire and the new Country Representative of the World Health Organisation (WHO), Dr Kazadi Mulombo, during the latter’s visit to the Minister in Abuja ..recent;y

T H I S D AY ˾ ͷ˜ ͰͮͰͮ

Photo Editor ÌÓÙÎßØ ÔËÖË Email ËÌÓÙÎßØ˛ËÔËÖË̶ÞÒÓÝÎËãÖÓàÏ˛ÍÙ×

L-R: Chief of Standard and Evaluation,NAF Headquarters, AVM Ramigius Ekeh; President, Digital Bridge Institute, Prof. Muhammad Ajiya; Representatative of Chief of Air Staff, AVM Isiaka Amao; Vice Chancellor, Uniben, Prof. Lillian Salami; Chief Training and Operations, NAF, AVM James Gwani and Commissioner/CEO, AIB-N, Engr. Akin Olateru, after the signing of MOU on Collaboration for Capacity Building, Research and Development along other organization with NAF in Abuja...recently.

Ekiti State Governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi and newly posted Federal Road Safety Corps to Ekiti State Corps Commander, Mrs. Elizabeth Funmilayo Akinlade; when she paid a courtesy visit to the Governor in Ado-Ekiti...recently

L- R: The head of Umuawudioha clan in Aku community, Mr Chukwuemeka Attah; Igwe of Aku autonomous community, Igwe Christopher Okwor; and The Igwe’s wife, Martina, during a press conference to alert Enugu state Government and security agencies over possible bloodbath over communal land, threat to life and communal peace in Igbo-Etiti Local Government Area of Enugu state..recently

L-r: Deputy Commander, Operation Safe Haven in Plateau, Emmanuel Ado and representative of the Chief of Defence Staff, Air Commodore Kolawole Adedokun , distributing COVID-19 palliatives provided by Operation Safe Haven to beneficiaries in Gindiri village in Plateau ...recently NAN

Gov Dapo Abiodun of Ogun State at the scene of the flood disaster that ravaged Abeokuta...recently

L-R; Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Mines and Steel Development, Edeth Sunday-Akpan; Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Olamilekan Adegbite; and Minister of State, Uchechukwu Sampson-Ogah, during the Ministers’ interactive section with Journalists on the development of the mining sector in the country, in Abuja... recently

Some of the 108 Nigerians evacuated from New Delhi, India, during their arrival at Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja ...recently

25

T H I S D AY ˾ JULY 9, 2020

HEALTH & LIFESTYLE

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

Re-tooling Nigeria’s Public Health Model in Post COVID-19 Era With the COVID-19 pandemic exposing several strains in Nigeria’s healthcare system, especially in the area of digital engagement, it is time the government and stakeholders in the sector think outside the box going forward, Martins Ifijeh writes

I

t is no longer news that COVID-19 will leave a serious public health crisis in its wake long after it has gone; an open knowledge that has ensured attention globally is shifting to concretising local and international health partnerships that focus on not just how to successfully contain or tackle the virus, but, more importantly, to ensure that life saving and essential health delivery services are sustained and maintained to entrench a robust system that enhances lessons learnt from the pandemic.

Like other developing countries, Nigeria now, more than ever, has to seriously confront the challenge of creating a modern health services delivery system that guarantees efficient, fast and accessible solution capable of curtailing fatalities associated with common diseases and their devastating impact on families, communities and development.

While speaking recently on the threat of malaria in the country, the Minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire said although fever testing amongst children under five years has increased consistently from five per cent in 2010 to 11 per cent in 2013, 13 per cent in 2015 and 14 per cent in 2018, it is still very low when compared with the second objective of the Malaria Strategic Plan which is to test all care-seeking persons with suspected malaria using RDT or microscopy.”

According to the World Malaria Report, Nigeria still accounts for 25 per cent of the global malaria burden and 19 per cent of global malaria deaths.

Nigeria, it is estimated, accounts for 81,640 annual malaria deaths - about nine deaths per hour – and the situation is worsened by very low levels of investment in malaria elimination at both the sub-national levels and the private sector.

Apart from the frightening mortality and morbidity data on malaria, lack of access to functional health services delivery system has also been responsible for avoidable havoc caused by many other common but potentially deadly illnesses, such as STDs, diarrhea, hypertension, and diabetes on a large segment of the 52 per cent of the country’s population that live in the rural areas.

To compound the situation, the country’s rural areas mostly lack good and functional infrastructure while unavailability of competent healthcare personnel, coupled with high levels of poverty and illiteracy continue to make public health a daunting task in the country Despite the country’s strategic position in Africa, it is highly underserved in the healthcare delivery sphere. Health resources such as facilities, personnel, and medical equipment are inadequate, especially in rural areas.

Latest data from a survey of Africa’s 10 largest economies show that only Ethiopia has fewer hospital beds per capita than Nigeria. The most

Minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire

recent WHO data puts the number of hospital beds at only five per 10,000 people in Nigeria.

Beyond hospital beds, however, public healthcare delivery is hampered more by inadequacy of healthcare resources, particularly personnel, drugs and other medical equipment needed for holistic patient treatment. For instance, the doctor to patient ratio is currently 1:6000.

Most of the available qualified doctors are concentrated in urban cities and towns while the rural areas have next to nothing, thereby leaving room for quacks and other unqualified hands to tend citizens’ health needs. This poor picture makes the healthcare system particularly fragile and always at major risk of being overwhelmed at the breakout or in the aftermath of any pandemic with serious presence in the country.

Yet, as an important element of national security, the need for public health is non-negotiable. Public health not only functions to provide adequate and timely medical care, but also tracks, monitors and controls disease outbreak. The Nigerian healthcare environment has suffered several infectious disease outbreaks year after year. Hence, there is need to tackle the problem decisively now in order to forestall a repeat of the chaotic national response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

While government has regularly come up with reforms to address the wide ranging issues in the healthcare system, implementation has sadly been poor.

According to the 2009 communiqué of the National Health Conference, healthcare system

remains weak as evidenced by lack of coordination, fragmentation of services, dearth of resources, including drug and supplies, inadequate and decaying infrastructure, inequity in resource distribution, lack of access to care and very deplorable quality of care. The communiqué also pinpointed lack of clarity of roles and responsibilities among the different levels of government to have compounded the situation.

To further underline the fact that the Nigerian healthcare system is poorly developed, experts have often observed that there are no discernible and well maintained adequate and functional surveillance systems in the sector. A successful modern day healthcare delivery model requires routine surveillance and medical intelligence as the backbone of the health sector.

This is because medical intelligence and surveillance represent a very useful component in the health care system and control of diseases outbreak. Provision of timely information aimed at combating possible health menace among many other things is an important function of public health. Hence, inadequate tracking techniques in the public health sector can lead to huge health insecurity, and thereby endanger national development, peace and security.

There is therefore an increasing role of automatedbased medical intelligence and surveillance systems to complement the traditional manual pattern of document retrieval in advanced medical setting as seen in western and European countries.

Given the above prognosis, the primary challenge

confronting the country’s public health today could therefore be framed as how to create and sustain an information-rich and patient-focused health care system that reliably delivers high-quality care.

Learning from experience is crucial, both for effective emergency response and to rebuild for the future.

Past experiences have shown that in the wake of health pandemics, government has often been discovered to have diverted statutory health budget and resources to tackle the immediate challenge of the pandemic. This often leaves the healthcare services delivery sector more fragile, weaker and more overwhelmed, especially in the efforts to contain common citizen health needs.

For instance, in the aftermath of the Ebola crisis, many people died because of the inability of the overwhelmed health systems to treat malaria, HIV, and tuberculosis than from Ebola itself. A similar trend can only be avoided in the aftermath of this fight against COVID-19 if efforts are geared towards putting in place a proactive, revolutionary and easily affordable and accessible health services delivery model that can ride on strong deployment of technology to strengthen healthcare accessibility at the grassroots.

Nigeria needs to urgently come up with an innovative approach to creating different layers of health services delivery model that can deliver effective and efficient medical services to the most vulnerable in the society, to achieve the best health outcomes, such that location and socio-economic status will not be a barrier to accessing quality healthcare services. This needs to also be done as cheaply as possible, given the dwindling economic fortunes of the country.

In this regard, the country needs to look towards the innovative and revolutionary community health hub idea which is capable of leveraging technology to offer holistic solution to the identified gaps in the existing healthcare delivery systems, particularly in the undeserved areas, as a way of maximising the scarce human resources for health (HRH).

The best of these community health hub ideas is grounded on tele-healthcare model and not the mortar community healthcare facility model.

The growing popularity, spread, reach and utility value of mobile telephony and other digital devices should challenge health administrators and service providers to think out of the box in coming up with solutions that can deliver efficient health services to majority of Nigerians, especially in the lower socio-economic cadre.

The current pandemic has demonstrated the central importance of health in our national life — without it, we have nothing. It has also shown how we can do things differently as regards to making our public healthcare system truly patient-focused.

We should not expect the world to stand still for us to move at a pedestrian pace when everybody else is sprinting to make their systems better.

Take Advantage of COVID-19 to Reverse Medical Tourism, Experts Tell Govt, Stakeholders Martins Ifijeh Health experts have called on stakeholders in the health sector and governments to take advantage of the COVID-19 pandemic to reverse the growing trend of medical tourism by Nigerians.

Stating this during the Ernst and Young (EY) Healthcare Webinar held recently, they said the pandemic has accelerated the world’s path to a digital age, as well as improved the adoption of telemedicine even in Nigeria.

Sharing his thoughts, the Director, Consulting, EY West Africa,

Dr Tosin Oshinubi said: “There are five main forces driving the disruption and convergence we are seeing in the healthcare sector and they include; increased healthcare spending, rise of super consumers, disruptive role of technology, emergence of non-traditional players in the field of healthcare and the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The Internet has democratised access to healthcare information thereby empowering consumers who are also influenced by the disruption in other sectors such as banking and retail. This provides

opportunity to reverse the medical tourism trend in Nigeria.”

According to him, to remain resilient and relevant amidst the disruption, healthcare providers need to optimize current business model without compromising on the quality of patient care leveraging data and technology.

On his part, the Commissioner for Health, Lagos State, Prof. Akin Abayomi said this disruption has given the state a severe wake-up call, and that it has gone back to the drawing board to think about moving forward for full convergence.

He said: “An example of a convergence is the One Health Paradigm in Lagos which is a combination of several ministries, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Environment, the Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of physical and government planning and the Ministry of Justice. It is important that these ministries don’t work in Silos and they converge to achieve the one health approach as described by the World Health Organisation (WHO).

“Another important convergence is the one between public

and private sector, as 70 per cent of Lagos residents seek their medical care in the private sector.

Hence, it is important that the government take its responsibilities as regulators to ensure that the public is protected from abhorrent practices in the private sector and ensure harmonious standards and regulatory compliance in the private sector.”

The Executive Vice Chairman, Bridge Clinic and Chairman Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) Board, Dr. Richardson Ajayi said for the country to improve its healthcare, it must

focus on investing in platforms rather than doctors, noting that a platform is a system where you have many doctors coming together to form a group practice and drive the revenue objectives of the business.

“We must niche opportunities like specialties that drive inbound medical tourism such as cancer care, cardiac care, among others.

Healthcare investors in Nigeria need to look at investment with a long-term horizon, because the traditional private equity model is dangerous in the market,” he added.

26

T H I S D AY ˾ JULY 9, 2020

NEWS

Dettol, JIK Partner UNAIDS to Assist People Living With HIV As COVID-19 pandemic persists, the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV and AIDS (UNAIDS) and Reckitt Benckiser have joined forces to help protect people living with HIV across Nigeria and the rest of Africa.

Announcing this in a statement made available to THISDAY recently, the General Manager, Health for Reckitt Benckiser, Nigeria, Dayanand Sriram said the partnership hopes to reach approximately 220,000 individuals across 22

countries in Africa including Nigeria with a Hygiene pack that contains three-month supply of Dettol bar soap and JIK bleach, with the market value of the products placed at over N800 million.

Sriram said: “Reckitt Benckiser’s purpose is to protect, heal and nurture in the relentless pursuit of a cleaner, healthier world,” says Dayanand Sriram, General Manager, Health for Reckitt Benckiser, Nigeria.

“The initiative to distribute the hygiene packs is part of

“Fight for Access Fund, which aims to improve access to health, hygiene and nutrition for all.

“We want and need to play our part in stemming the effects of the pandemic and we can do this by providing access to our high-quality hygiene products – 180,000 bars of Dettol soap.

“By partnering UNAIDS,

we can reach specific groups of people who need them the most. For years, RB, through its brand Dettol, has supported the government’s effort in promoting a healthy lifestyle through its School Hygiene Programme that educates over 300,000 school children annually and the New Mums’ Programme that supports over 200,000

pregnant women annually to adopt healthy habits.”

The Country Manager, Hygiene, for Reckitt Benckiser Nigeria, Asif Hashimi said: “Brands like JIK have a critical role to play in promoting hygiene in the fight against health pandemics..”

UNAIDS Country Director, Dr. Erasmus Morah said the timely delivery of the hygiene

kits will improve the health of members of Nigeria’s networks of people living with HIV at this turbulent time of COVID-19 pandemic.

“We appreciate this demonstration of solidarity from RB, and we encourage other private sector entities and philanthropists to consider doing the same with all vulnerable populations.”

BewiAfrica Urges Youths against Drug Abuse Rebecca Ejifoma Determined to bring an end to drug abuse and illicit trafficking, a not-for-profit organisation, BewiAfrica has sensitised youths in Fadeyi and Ojuelegba areas of Lagos against the use of drugs and its devastating effects.

The maiden outreach, which had renowned comedian, Gbenga Adeyinka D first (GCON) as host, was tagged: ‘International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking’ and it is observed every June 26.

Speaking on this year’s theme: ‘Better Knowledge for Better Care’, the Founder, BewiAfrica, Ms. Florence Hungbo said understanding drug problem will in turn help for better knowledge on how to address the scourge.

She said: “We visited the youths and leaders in Fadeyi and Ojuelegba respectively with some entertainers and therapists to lecture the youths on the dangers of drug abuse on their health and future.

“It is imperative for BewiAfrica

to carry out more awareness and outreaches in areas identified as having high cases of drug abuse.”

Representative of Transport Union in Fadeyi, Mr. Femi Akinboyeku condemned the use of drugs especially among youths and teenagers.

He said, “I neither smoke nor drink. Today, I have been able to achieve so much in my endeavour. If I was doing drugs, I would not have been anywhere near where I have reached in my profession.”

Speaking also, the Executive Vice Chairman, Somolu Local Government Council, Bowale Sosimi, commended BewiAfrica. He described the move as an exceptional cause, which he said was first of its kind for the youths of the area.

In Ojuelegba, the Deputy Chairman, National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), Aransiola Qudus, lauded BewiAfrica for choosing Ojuelegba on drug abuse awareness.

AIG Partners NESG to Fund Incident, Response Tracker against COVID-19 Martins Ifijeh Africa Initiative for Governance (AIG) has partnered with the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG) and the federal government to fund the building of a COVID-19 Incidence and Resource Tracker, Dashboard and Predictive Analytic Platform to assist in the containment of the COVID-19 pandemic in Nigeria.

The analytical platform solution is expected to provide a robust, up-to-date database of federal and sub-national resource and availability requirements for the COVID-19 response, based on the World Health Organisation (WHO) recommended resource specifications on packages for COVID-19.

In a statement made available to THISDAY recently, the Chief Executive Officer of the NESG, Laoye Jaiyeola said: “Once deployed, the systems platform will provide a national and subnational inventory management system that gives visibility of what is procured, in-stock and out-of-stock across the federal and state testing, treatment and isolation centres.

“The real-time data provided will enable government, the private sector, international

organisations and other donors to mobilise more effectively in providing the critical human and material resources needed to support the country’s response to the pandemic.”

On May 19, 2020, the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19, which is constituted by heads of the Federal Ministry of Health, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) and other Ministries, Departments and Agencies of government endorsed the partnership between AIG and NESG for the development of the systems platform, which is equally deployed in collaboration with the Nigeria Governors Forum.

The Director of AIG, Ofovwe Aig-Imoukhuede said: “Beyond improving the transparency, accountability and governance of national resources co-sourced from public, private and development sectors towards the COVID-19 response, the Predictive Analytic Model embedded in the Platform will enable the PTF on COVID-19, and the NCDC predict and project the rate of infections, deaths and consequent resource requirements. This is key for the future of Nigeria’s COVID-19 response”.

L-R: Secretary/Programme Manager, NEPWHAN, Mr Clifford Emmanuel; Regional Sales Manager, Reckitt Benckiser, Mr Victor Okafor; Receptionist, NEPWHAN, Ms Hafsat Mahmud; Senior Administrative Officer, NEPWHAN, Mr Emmanuel Enyimoche; and National M&E Officer, NEPWHAN, Mr Abutu Abraham; during the presentation of Dettol and JIK hygiene products to UNAIDS in Lagos recently

COVID-19: Group Cautions against Retrogression in Anti Malaria Drive Onyebuchi Ezigbo ÓØ ÌßÔË The Civil Society in Malaria Control, Immunisation and Nutrition (ACOMIN) national advocacy group has said that Nigeria is witnessing a slowing down in intervention efforts against malaria scourge due to the attention being focused on containing COVID-19.

The Global Fund assisted accountability advocacy group also expressed worry that the country may witness the doubling of casualties from Malaria, HIV, and tuberculosis due to Covid-19

imposed disruptions in healthcare delivery system.

ACOMIN also warned that the country runs the risk of a complete reversal in the progress so far made in anti-malaria and tuberculosis campaign.

Speaking during the presentation of the group’s health sector situation report in Abuja recently, the group’s National Coordinator, Mr. Ago Ipinmoye said that analysis by the World Health Organisation (WHO), UNAIDS and Stop TB partnership indicates that annual death tolls across the three diseases could double if

nothing drastic is done to arrest the situation.

“Analysis from WHO, UNAIDS, Stop TB partnership and others suggest that this annual death toll across the three diseases could nearly double, wiping out years of progress, if we do not act decisively. “ The scale of disruption to HIV, TB malaria as a result of COVID-19 is indicated by the latest Global survey, covering 106 countries, which suggests that approximately three quarters of HIV, TB, and malaria programmes have been impacted.

Ipinmoye said that the situation is even worse in some of the vulnerable communities where health care services are underserved.

“They are under the threat of COVID-19 and are at the risk of a resurgence of malaria, HIV and TB. As the resources that used to serve these communities which were inadequate to begin with is stretched to serve the needs of covid-19, alongside the economic downturn occasioned by the lockdown could result in nutritional deficiencies and collapse of services,” he said.

COVID-19: Turkish Emzor Partners Foundation Airline Offers 40% to Fight Drug Abuse is committed to ensuring that Airfare to Health Workers Dike Onwuamaeze the society is free of drug abuse Turkish Airline has slashed its air fare to 40 per cent for health workers, as part of efforts to appreciate their role in addressing the COVID-19 pandemic.

Announcing this recently, the airline said the gesture was a way of appreciating the roles of the frontline workers at this critical time of global health challenges.

It said: “It is impossible to fully express our deep gratitude to the health workers who care for our lives at all times and under any circumstances. To show our great appreciation, we are offering a 40 per cent discount on flights for our devoted health workers and the loved ones accompanying them.

“By registering with your Miles&Smiles membership number, you can receive a promotional code providing a 40 per cent discount on all Economy or Business Class flights.”

On how to benefit, it said interested workers should

register to be Miles&Smiles members, then click the ‘Register to Campaign’ button and tick the ‘New Feedback’ option at the bottom of the page directed to.

“Then click ‘Exclusive for Healthcare Professionals’ from which part the registration form can be accessed.Enter your details and upload your healthcare professional ID card to the system.

“Within five days after your information is approved, your promocode will be sent to the e-mail registered to your Miles&Smiles membership account.

“When you purchase your ticket via our online channels, the discount will be applied during the payment process by entering the promocode in the related section,” it said.

The airline said the registration period will last until July 18; ticketing will last until August 1; while travelling period will last until May 31, 2021.

One of Nigeria’s leading pharmaceutical companies, the Emzor Pharmaceuticals Limited (EPL), is collaborating with the Freedom Foundation in a strategic partnership that is geared toward the rehabilitation of the victims of drug abuse.

The EPL said the partnership was in commemoration of this year’s International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Drug Trafficking and would be used to consciously educate the public on the dangers of abusing drugs in a society.

Tagged “Better Knowledge for Better Care”, the emphasis is on the need to improve the understanding of the world drug problem and how better knowledge will foster greater international cooperation for countering its impact on health, governance and security.

The Marketing Manager of EPL, Mr. Kunle Faloye, said the pharmaceutical company

and that people are constantly aware of the dangers of abusing drugs.

Faloye said: “We are aware of the dangers of drug abuse in our society today and it’s unfortunate that it has eaten so deep into society that it is now a norm.

“As an organisation, we will continuously educate the public on the dangers of drug abuse and enlighten other stakeholders on what is expected of them.

The fight against drug abuse is a collective one and we are happy to lead the charge.”

He said that Emzor has always remained in the fore front of the fight against drug abuse in Nigeria, adding that the company mobilised more than 2000 secondary school students in 2018 with its Emzor Wellness Club campaign that was tagged “Students Unite Against Drug Abuse,” to sensitise teenagers on the need to shun drug abuse.

27

T H I S D AY ˾ JULY 9, 2020

NEWS

Violence against Women and Girls: The Shadow Pandemic Pauline Tallen, Peter Hawkins, Comfort Lamptey Violence against women and girls in Nigeria is a pandemic-sized problem. Millions live in fear of being abused, assaulted or raped.

Frontline heroes like the doctors, lawyers, social workers and counsellors who deal with the daily casualties of this crisis describe the heartbreak of handling cases of women and girls who have been abused or raped. These protectors of women and children’s rights persevere in their efforts, even though they know most cases will not be reported, receive support and get justice.

And the cases we know about are only the small tip of a colossal iceberg.

So many women and girls suffer in silence and shame because they are worried about their family’s reaction and social stigma. Like a woman in Sokoto, who was assaulted by her husband whilst in purdah and denied access to critical support; or a woman in Lagos who was raped and impregnated by her neighbor and forced to leave her home for fear of stigmatization.

Countless women and girls who are either ostracized or in community seclusion and at risk of violence still need to be reached.

But we are finally seeing a slow shift in attitudes.

Across Nigeria, women and girls are standing up, reporting their cases, and demanding local solutions to the problems of violence, including rape and sexual exploitation.

Cases like Blessing, who is 13 years old and lives in Abuja. Last year she was raped by her neighbor but kept quiet because he threatened to kill her. When she finally told her parents, they pressed charges and the rapist was arrested but released on bail. The rapist lives near the family and threatened her mother to drop the case. But her mother refused to settle and is pursuing justice in the courts.

“I want to be a lawyer because I don’t want

Stop violence against women and girls

other girls like me to go through a similar experience,” Blessing told us. “I want to stand up for them, be there for them and fight for them - that’s why I want to be a lawyer.”

Breaking the silence on violence against women and girls has created a momentum and encouraged more families to come forward and

ISN Medical Unveils Award to recognise Unsung Heroes of Medical Practice ISN Products Nigeria Limited, one of Nigeria’s leading suppliers of Medical Diagnostic Products and Services, has flagged off the inaugural edition of the ISN Medical Laboratory Scientist of the Year Award; aimed at recognising and rewarding unsung heroes in the medical laboratory practice.

Speaking during the flag-off ceremony held recently on Lagos, the Executive Director, ISN Products Nigeria Limited, Mr. Felix Ofungwu, disclosed that the award was instituted as part of the company’s contribution towards encouraging and promoting excellence amongst Medical Laboratory Scientists (MLS) in Nigeria.

Ofungwu described MLS as the unsung heroes of the medical practice who play a very key role in health service delivery and are well-deserving of honour and recognition like their other counterparts in the medical sector.

He said: “MLS is the bedrock of the medical practice as all others including the medicine, nursing and pharmacists rely on their diagnosis to provide quality healthcare and treatment.

They have always been in the background but now with the ISN Medical Laboratory Scientist of the Year Award, they will be brought to the limelight and celebrated,” he said.

He further disclosed that

entry for the award is now open from until August 22, 2020. He called on interested MLS to download the form from ISN’s website; www. isnmedical.com for free.

Speaking on eligibility, he stated that an applicant must have the requisite academic qualification, must be registered with the Medical Laboratory Science Council of Nigeria (MLSCN), and must be working in a registered Laboratory or Hospital.

Ofungwu disclosed that the Winner of the Award would receive a cash prize of N1 million, a capacity development training, and a donation of Medical Lab Equipment/Reagents worth N1 million to the laboratory or hospital where he or she works.

“The first runner-up will receive a cash prize of N750, 000 and a capacity development training, the second runner-up will receive a cash prize of N500, 000 and a capacity development training while seven other finalists will receive consolatory prizes of N200,000 each,” he added.

In his remarks, the Project Consultant for the Initiative, Mr. Daniel Adewuni noted that entries would be screened and marked by an esteemed panel of judges drawn from both the medical laboratory science profession as well as the media who will select the top 10 finalist and the eventual winners.

report cases of rape and other forms of violence or abuse. This increase in reporting is ringing alarm bells for clear political action. Nigerian communities and leaders are increasingly coming to terms with the scale of the problem and promising support to find solutions.

These are signs of hope. Even within the

COVID-19 pandemic, a proactive culture is developing, whereby community leaders, health and social service providers including the police are working together with unprecedented coordination to implement a zero-tolerance policy for violence against women and girls.

Working together means engaging men and boys to address attitudes that perpetuate violence.

Global solidarity campaigns such as HeForShe and #WithHer include men and boys as important allies in the gender equality movement, and in Nigeria, there is a surge of male champions actively and publicly pushing for justice for victims and survivors.

Whilst ending the pandemic of violence against women and girls in Nigeria begins with encouraging more reporting, it is only the first step.

It must also include a comprehensive review of the system from the girl’s and woman’s point of view. Resources and training are needed to improve services so survivors of violence can get free medical care, legal support and long-term counselling and support.

The government has a critical role to play in leading the way, providing the necessary systems and removing the obstacles to accessing services. But the government alone cannot solve this problem – it is the small but momentous changes at the family and community levels – the changes we are starting to see now - that will drive the real change and finally make Nigeria a place that is safe for women and girls.

There is a long way to go before we realize the dream of a Nigeria where women and girls do not live in fear of being abused or raped. We must not squander this moment to make a lasting transformation – for Blessing and for millions of other girls and women like her. t5BMMFO JT UIF .JOJTUFS PG 8PNFO "GGBJST /JHFSJB )BXLJOT JT 6/*$&' /JHFSJB 3FQSFTFOUBUJWF -BNQUFZ JT UIF 6/ 8PNFO /JHFSJB 3FQSFTFOUBUJWF

Is Telemedicine the Next Frontier of Medical Practice?

Kayode Oshin Nearly all human endeavors have been impacted by technology. From Agriculture to Aviation, from Transportation to Communication, no sphere of human activity has been exempted from the positive effect of advances in technology.

To cite a few examples: Shale oil is a better, cheaper and effective alternative to crude oil.

Manual driving will be eventually replaced by driverless electric cars.

A solar powered supersonic jet that can travel from Tokyo to New York has been tested.

Name the field, the impact of innovative technology is far reaching.Robotic engineering and drone technology have influenced manufacturing

processes and production cost and war strategy minimizing cost of airplanes and loss of human pilots respectively are realities of modern times.

Medical field, an important component of mankind existence, has benefited immensely from technological development. Laser technology has reduced the necessity of general surgeries as body part specific surgeries are being routinely done.

Bloodless surgery can be demanded without risk of death.

Nobody would prefer that these trends be curtailed. However, medical advancement at least in the developed world, is tilting toward telemedicine.

Proponents of this new initiative are of the opinion that that is the new highway which

medical field must follow. It has been brilliant argued, that the benefits of this invention outweigh any drawbacks if any.

These advocates of telemedicine posit that it is cheaper and accessible to all and sundry.Rurality of patients or complexity of operation are no brainers as far as telemedicine is concerned. They say it is the most suitable for epidemics and pandemics especially as the world is witnessing now.

These plusses of telemedicine are simply indisputable.

However, strong and deliberate care must be observed because life and death are involved.

The privacy of medical records and confidentiality of doctor patient relationship guaranteed under the orthodox medical practice may be in jeopardy under telemedicine.

Will telemedicine be priced out of the rich of the common man and how the rural patients will access telemedicine in the absence of power and data and internet access must be critically addressed.

Will telemedicine reduce the employment of doctors while up skilling the teledoctors?

Will telemedicine obviate the need for traditional medical practice or complement it?

Telemedicine must address these phobia in order to ensure a sound footing in the medical practice landscape.

Teething problems will surely arise but telemedicinemust be given the benefit of doubt.

Who knows, medical history and practice, may never be the same again if telemedicine is nurtured and supported to thrive.

New Telemedicine App Launches on Google, Apple Stores Vanessa Obioha A new telemedicine app, MyDokita has been launched on Google and Apple stores to provide Nigerians easy access to affordable medical practitioners overseas.

According to the founder Jide Akintola, it is important for Nigerians to embrace telemedicine as it would give them access to fast and reliable medical care.

“MyDokita app provides Nigerians affordable instant access to a second opinion on their diagnosis and medical prescriptions, thereby reducing the risk of misdiagnosis or wrong prescription. At the moment, there is no platform

that allows collaboration and knowledge transfer between all the great Nigerian medical practitioners outside the country and those within the country. We have developed the MyDokita app to make this happen. The platform allows for mentoring, knowledge transfers and collaboration between Nigerian overseas medical practitioners and the local experts through online video, audio and chat consultation.”

Created in partnership with Pius Akanni Akintola Foundation, Akintola pointed out that the app would address the medical brain drain in Nigeria as well as strengthen the healthcare delivery in the

country.

According to the World Health Orgainisation report in 2018, Nigeria’s average life expectancy is 55.2. Akintola is optimistic that the app would improve this statistic. He added that the app also features tips and advices on some medical issues.

As the world is still battling with the capricious coronavirus, the founder revealed that there are published articles on COVID-19, its spread, symptoms available on the app.

“This was made freely available to hundreds of users that registered on our platform during the app testing phase.

We worked with a couple of charity organisations in the

country to give away over two thousand free face masks to people in Ikeja, Egbeda, Yaba, Alimosho, Dopemu and Agege.

We also took palliative measures during the lockdown by distributing raw food items to over seven hundred households in Alimosho Local Government.

We repeated the same palliative measures during the start of Ramadan also.”

Akintola insisted that the world would have to live with COVID-19 until a vaccine was found, saying, “It is crucial for us to continue to follow the government guidelines on washing our hands, wearing face masks in public and practicing social distancing where possible.”

28

T H I S D AY Ëž ÍˇËœ 2020

BUSINESS/MONEYGUIDE

Lawyer Withdraws Suit against NSIA, National Assembly, Others Dike Onwuamaeze An Abuja-based lawyer, Johnmary Jideobi has withdrawn a suit filed before a Federal High Court against the President of the Senate, Speaker of the House of Representative, the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority and five others.

However, the presiding judge, Ahmed Muhammed, adjourned hearing in the suit to July 16, 2020, to give the plaintiff an opportunity to appear before the court to explain whether he wants the case struck out or dismissed and why he should not be sanctioned.

Jideobi, was challenging the legislative powers of the National Assembly to have enacted some sections in the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority Establishment Act 2011.

According to the lawyer, various provisions of the NSIA Act violated the provisions of sections 80 and 162 of the Nigerian Constitution which created the Federation Account/ Consolidated Revenue Fund Account and provided that all revenues accruing to the federal government must be paid into them and shared by the tiers of governments. But at the resumed hearing yesterday, the plaintiff

and his counsel were nowhere to be found as he had filed a notice to discontinue the case, but the defendants were not served.

Owing to this, Counsel to NSIA, Adegboyega Awomolo, urged the court to dismiss the case with a cost of N1 million against the plaintiff.

Awomolo added: “When we filed our defenses and our objections, I believe he was scared.

So, he quickly filed a notice of discontinuance. And I said my client (the NSIA) has spent so much money to preserve the authority. So, for him to have run away, I am asking for millions of naira as cost.�

PepsiCo Appoints Agbaje Board Member PepsiCo, Inc. has appointed the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Guaranty Trust Bank Plc, Mr. Segun Agbaje as an independent member of its Board.

In a statement yesterday, PepsiCo said Agbaje, 56, would join its Board and Audit Committee effective July 15, 2020. “I am delighted to welcome Segun to the PepsiCo Board,� said PepsiCo Chairman and CEO, Ramon Laguarta. “Segun is a well-respected and proven business leader with a deep understanding of complex businesses and fast-

growing markets, particularly Sub-Saharan Africa where we recently acquired Pioneer Foods as part of our strategy to expand in the region. “His experience in business transformation and passion for delivering consumer value will serve PepsiCo well as we continue our journey to be the global leader in convenient foods and beverages by winning with purpose,� Laguarta said. “We look forward to Segun joining the PepsiCo Board and to the valued global perspective he will add to our team,� chair of the Board’s Nominating and

Corporate Governance Committee, Daniel Vasella said.

Vasella further said, “His knowledge and experience of embracing and scaling new technologies and critical capabilities will be valuable as we continue to invest in opportunities that create shareholder value and deliver long-term sustainable growth.�

Prior to becoming Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of GTBank, Agbaje, held several positions at the bank after joining in 1991, including Executive Director and Deputy Managing Director from 2002 to 2011.

UK Nominates Fox for WTO DG The United Kingdom (UK) has nominated Dr. Liam Fox for the position of the Director General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO).

According to the timetable announced by the Chair of the General Council, David Walker, the nomination period closed yesterday.

“Shortly after the nomination period has closed, candidates will be invited to meet with members at a special General Council meeting, present their views and take questions from the membership,� a statement from the WTO explained.

From today, Walker would be expected to issue to members, a

consolidated list of all candidates. “Once the nomination period has closed, candidates will be invited to meet with members at a special General Council meeting from 15 to 17 July. At this meeting, they will have the opportunity to present their views and take questions from the membership,� the statement added.

PZCussonsFoundation SupportsLagos’Covid-19Fight Femi Solaja The PZ Cussons Foundation recently donated soaps to the Lagos State Ministry of Health towards controlling the spread of COVID-19 in the state.

The donation was received by the Permanent Secretary, Lagos State Ministry of Health, Dr Olusegun Ogboye.

The PZ Cussons Foundation had previously donated soaps to over 40,000 people in six major cities across Nigeria in collaboration with the Foundation for Refugee Economic Empowerment (FREE), a UK and Nigerian Charity that aims to provide high quality, timely, accountable, and inclusive humanitarian assistance to displaced persons towards

enabling them to return to normal and sustainable productive lives.

The Foundation made a promise to extend this gesture to other areas of the country affected by the pandemic, one which it has now fulfilled.

Speaking on the donation in Lagos, the Chairman, Board of Trustees of the Foundation, Prof. Eyitayo Lambo, said: “After learning that one of the simplest ways to stay protected against the coronavirus is by consistent handwashing with soap, we made a commitment to support the effort of government in its fight against the spread of the virus. “We started with the north as there were quite a number of vulnerable persons there. We have

now extended similar support to Lagos seeing how we have recently experienced a surge in the number of cases in the state.�

According to him, the goal was to support the efforts of the Lagos state government, as well as encourage residents of the state to stay protected by washing their hands regularly.

While receiving the donation from the PZ Cussons Foundation, the Permanent Secretary, Lagos State Ministry of Health, Dr. Olusegun Ogboye, said: “This is quite a laudable gesture from the PZ Cussons Foundation and it would definitely go a long away in supporting our efforts in preventing the further spread of the coronavirus in Lagos state.

PACE,Stanbic IBTCIntroduce HiFLMasterclassSeries Raheem Akingbolu PACE Sports and Entertainment Marketing, organisers of Higher Institutions Football League, has announced the introduction of the Masterclass Series as a part of efforts aimed at creating more opportunities for its stakeholders across board, particularly journalists, sports lovers, and students in the varsity space.

According to the partners,

the #HiFLMasterClass Series is a sequence of online sessions created to grow and empower critical HiFL stakeholders, which includes sports and non-sports enthusiasts. Aside from matters affecting sports and its development in Nigeria, the promoters also stated that the masterclasses will provide participants with timely insights on making other critical life decisions, which may have major influences on the path to

success. The sessions are being organised in collaboration with Stanbic IBTC. Speaking on the collaboration, Head, Global Markets at Stanbic IBTC, Sam Ocheho, stated that beyond further reinforcing the company’s commitment to collegiate sports in Nigeria, the Masterclasses would propel the participants, especially the youths to chart the proper course to accomplishing their dreams.

Arik Air resumes domestic ights

MARKET INDICATORS MONEY AND CREDIT STATISTICS

(MILLION NAIRA)

SEPTEMBER 2019 Money Supply (M3)

35,029,779.72

-- CBN Bills Held by Money Holding Sectors

7,374,356.91

Money Supply (M2)

27,655,422.82

-- Quasi Money

116,533,891.21

-- Narrow Money (M1)

11,121,531.60

---- Currency Outside Banks

1,625,047.69

---- Demand Deposits

9,496,483.91

Net Foreign Assets (NFA)

13,911,335.83

Net Domestic Assets(NDA)

21,118,443.89

-- Net Domestic Credit (NDC)

35,918,179.45

---- Credit to Government (Net)

10,452,199.38

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

11,007,422.79

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

25,465,980.07

---- Credit to Private Sector (CPS)

-14,799,735.56

--Other Assets Net

7,000,253.07

Reserve Money (Base Money

2,005,600.83

--Currency in Circulation

4,677,530.81

--Banks Reserves

317,121.43

Ëž Ă™Ă&#x;ĂœĂ?Ă? Ě‹

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

Ëž Ă™Ă˜Ă?ĂžĂ‹ĂœĂŁ ÙÖÓĂ?ĂŁ Ă‹ĂžĂ? Ě‹ ͯ͹Ϲ

OPEC DAILY BASKET PRICE Ëœ Íľ Í°ÍŽÍ°ÍŽ

The price of OPEC basket of thirteen crudes stood at $43.15 a barrel on Tuesday, compared with $43.57 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), ZaďŹ ro (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

29

T H I S D AY ˾ ͷ˜ 2020

MARKET NEWS

NSE Cautions Investors against 13 Companies for Failure to File Accounts Goddy Egene The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) yesterday advised investors to trade with caution on the securities of 13 companies due to the absence of up to date financial information on them.

The companies are: Aso Savings and Loans Plc; Deap Capital Management & Trust Plc; DN Tyre & Rubber Plc; FTN Cocoa Processors Plc; Goldlink Insurance Plc; International Energy

Insurance Plc; Medview Airline Plc;Resort Savings & Loans Plc; Staco Insurance Plc; Standard Alliance Insurance Plc; UNIC Diversified Holdings Plc; Union Dicon Salt Plc and Union Homes Savings and Loans Plc. According to the NSE, the companies violated Rule 1.1.2, which are rules for filling of accounts and treatment of default filing rule book of the exchange. The NSE explained that the companies’ unaudited

P R I C E S MAIN BOARD

F O R DEALS

financial statement (UFS) became due on 29 of June 2020, being the extended due date as granted by the exchange.

“By virtue of non-filing of the UFS by the due date, the companies have violated Rule 1.1.2, Rules for Filing of Accounts and Treatment of Default Filing, Rulebook of The Exchange ,which provides that every issuer shall file its unaudited quarterly accounts not later

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

QUANTITY TRADED

VALUE TRADED ( N )

than 30 calendar days after the relevant quarter, and publish it within five business days after the date of filing, in at least two national daily newspapers, and post it on the company’s website, with the web address disclosed in the newspaper publication.

An electronic copy of the publication shall be filed with the exchange on the same day as the newspaper publication.”

Pursuant to the provisions

T R A D E D MAIN BOARD

A S

of Rule 2.2.1 of the Rules, the exchange had issued a deficiency filing notice ( DFN) to the aforementioned companies. The purpose of the DFN was to notify the companies of their infraction, and to grant them three days to provide the following information to the public through the medium of a press release.

The NSE added that the defaulting companies failed to comply with exchange’s

O F

directives set forth in the DFN and in light of the companies’ continued breach of Rule 2.2.1 of the Rules. And in line with the requirements of Rule 2.2.2 the exchange advised the investing public that a DFN has been issued against the aforelisted companies and has therefore advised investors trade with caution on the securities of these companies in the absence of up to date financial information on them.

0 8 / 0 7 / 2 0 2 0 DEALS

MARKET PRICE

QUANTITY TRADED

VALUE TRADED ( N)

30

THURSDAY, JULY 9, 2020 ˾ T H I S D AY

MARKET NEWS

ASHON Members Prepare to Trade on All Securities Exchanges Goddy Egene

in Nigeria in line with the new Houses of Nigeria until last name of the professional trade year, when the trade group changed its name to reflect The Association of Securities group.

ASHON, the umbrella body the enlarged functions of its Dealing Houses of Nigeria (ASHON) has initiated a plan for all securities dealing houses members without prejudice to to ensure that its members trade in Nigeria was formerly known the existing acronym. As part on all the securities exchanges as Association of Stockbroking of its brand positioning, the A Mutual fund (Unit Trust) is an investment floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange. vehicle managed by a SEC (Securities and A REIT (Real Estate Investment Trust) is an Exchange Commission) registered Fund Manager. investment vehicle that allows both small and Investors with similar objectives buy units of the large investors to part-own real estate ventures (eg.

Fund so that the Fund Manager can buy securities Offices, Houses, Hospitals) in proportion to their that willl generate their desired return. investments. The assets are divided into shares that An ETF (Exchange Traded Fund) is a type are traded on the Nigerian Stock Exchange. of fund which owns the assets (shares of stock, bonds, oil futures, gold bars, foreign currency, GUIDE TO DATA: etc.) and divides ownership of those assets into Date: All fund prices are quoted in Naira as at 07shares. Investors can buy these ‘shares’ on the Jul-2020, unless otherwise stated.

Association also changed its between its members with logo to reflect an array of its FMDQ Plc, NASD Plc and Lagos Commodities and Futures members’ functions.

It was gathered after the Exchange (LCFE), the council submission of by the Technical will meet to discuss and finalise Committee, set up by ASHON the strategy.

Market watchers have to harmonise the relationship 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.

observed that stockbrokers are not so active in trading fixed income securities on the FMDQ, whereas the financial instrument was the hub of transaction on the exchange during its formative years.

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 117.31 118.39 -7.51% Afrinvest Plutus Fund 100.00 100.00 2.93% Nigeria International Debt Fund 335.97 335.97 14.25% 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 0.92 0.92 1.68% ACAP Income Funds 0.78 0.78 9.60% 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 6.41% AIICO Balanced Fund 2.83 2.90 15.22% ANCHORIA ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED info@anchoriaam.com Web:www.anchoriaam.com, Tel: 08166830267; 08036814510; 08028419180 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Anchoria Money Market N/A N/A N/A Anchoria Equity Fund N/A N/A N/A Anchoria Fixed Income Fund N/A N/A N/A ARM INVESTMENT MANAGERS LTD enquiries@arminvestmentcenter.com Web: www.arm.com.ng; Tel: 0700 CALLARM (0700 225 5276) Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn ARM Aggressive Growth Fund 13.98 14.40 -8.73% ARM Discovery Fund 332.38 342.41 -3.78% ARM Ethical Fund 30.05 30.96 3.33% ARM Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 4.95% AXA MANSARD INVESTMENTS LIMITED investmentcare@axamansard.com Web: www.axamansard.com; Tel: +2341-4488482 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn AXA Mansard Equity Income Fund N/A N/A N/A AXA Mansard Money Market Fund N/A N/A N/A CAPITAL EXPRESS ASSET AND TRUST LIMITED info@capitalexpressassetandtrust.com Web: www.capitalexpressassetandtrust.com ; Tel: +234 803 307 5048 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn CEAT Fixed Income Fund 2.14 2.14 24.09% Capital Express Balanced Fund(Formerly: Union Trustees Mixed Fund) 1.80 1.82 -14.27% 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 0.07 0.05 6.59% Paramount Equity Fund 10.78 10.99 -13.82% Women's Investment Fund 108.00 108.80 -2.25% 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 5.07% Cordros Milestone Fund 2023 98.18 98.40 Cordros Milestone Fund 2028 100.23 100.46 Cordros Milestone Fund 2028 101.32 101.32 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 3.76% Coronation Balanced Fund 0.91 0.92 -1.79% Coronation Fixed Income Fund 1.54 1.54 15.76% EDC FUNDS MANAGEMENT LIMITED mutualfundng@ecobank.com Web: www.ecobank.com Tel: 012265281 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn EDC Nigeria Money Market Fund Class A N/A N/A N/A EDC Nigeria Money Market Fund Class B N/A N/A N/A EDC Nigeria Fixed Income Fund N/A N/A N/A 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 1,360.98 1,362.29 11.69% FBN Balanced Fund 147.12 148.14 0.20% FBN Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 4.80% FBN Nigeria Eurobond (USD) Fund - Institutional 117.10 117.67 1.41% FBN Nigeria Eurobond (USD) Fund - Retail 117.44 118.01 1.19% FBN Nigeria Smart Beta Equity Fund 112.58 113.59 -13.49% 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 4.38% Legacy Debt Fund 3.78 3.78 3.48% Legacy Equity Fund 1.08 1.10 -4.71% Legacy USD Bond Fund 1.11 1.11 2.64% 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 3,061.47 3,092.75 0.64% Coral Income Fund 3,183.67 3,183.67 3.51% FSDH Treasury Bills Fund 100.00 100.00 4.45% 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 4.60% Vantage Balanced Fund 2.23 2.26 1.56% Vantage Guaranteed Income Fund 1.00 1.00 8.85% Kedari Investment Fund (KIF) 147.01 147.56 2.50% 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 1.22 1.24 4.53% Lotus Halal Fixed Income Fund 1,136.76 1,136.76 5.40% 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 N/A N/A N/A Meristem Money Market Fund N/A N/A N/A PAC ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD info@pacassetmanagement.com Web: www.pacassetmanagement.com/mutualfunds; Tel: +234 1 271 8632 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn PACAM Balanced Fund 1.38 1.40 12.87% PACAM Fixed Income Fund 11.97 12.03 6.24% PACAM Money Market Fund 10.00 10.00 3.56% PACAM Equity Fund 1.01 1.02 PACAM EuroBond Fund 106.96 109.31 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 108.00 111.49 1.32% 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 1.00 1.00 5.14% 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 2,521.35 2,532.80 -0.68% Stanbic IBTC Bond Fund 210.33 210.33 0.13% Stanbic IBTC Ethical Fund 0.88 0.89 -1.72% Stanbic IBTC Guaranteed Investment Fund 273.87 273.95 0.16% Stanbic IBTC Iman Fund 154.92 156.64 -1.21% Stanbic IBTC Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 4.25% Stanbic IBTC Nigerian Equity Fund 7,674.15 7,756.30 -2.03% Stanbic IBTC Dollar Fund (USD) 1.16 1.16 0.09% Stanbic IBTC Shariah Fixed Income Fund 118.18 118.18 0.00% UNITED CAPITAL ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD Web: www.unitedcapitalplcgroup.com; Tel: +234 803 306 2887 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn United Capital Balanced Fund 1.12 1.14 -6.95% United Capital Bond Fund 1.83 1.83 5.53% United Capital Equity Fund 0.63 0.65 -9.97% United Capital Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 5.21% United Capital Eurobond Fund 115.76 115.76 3.49% United Capital Wealth for Women Fund 1.06 1.07 -2.41% 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 10.04 10.15 -2.34% Zenith Ethical Fund 11.70 11.80 0.65% Zenith Income Fund 23.99 23.99 7.82% Zenith Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 3.41%

REITS NAV Per Share

Yield / T-Rtn

116.13 53.10

3.64% 2.02%

Bid Price

Offer Price

Yield / T-Rtn

8.86 82.76 65.16

8.96 84.48 66.31

1.77% -2.64% -1.30%

Fund Name SFS Skye Shelter Fund 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

2.72 4.11 11.00 1.00 10.83 197.33

2.76 4.19 11.10 1.00 11.03 199.33

-23.22% -30.26% -9.04% 5.28% 4.18% 4.35%

NAV Per Share

Yield / T-Rtn

108.29

16.90%

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.

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NERC: 11 Discos Recorded N1.7tn Deficit on Tariffs Adedayo Akinwale and Udora Orizu in Abuja The Chairman of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), Prof.

James Momoh yesterday disclosed that 11 electricity distribution companies (Discos) have recorded N1.736 trillion deficit in tariffs.

Momoh made the disclosure during the investigative hearing into the privatisation of power assets held at the instance of the House of Representatives Ad-hoc Committee chaired by the Majority Leader, Hon. Ado Doguwa.

He explained that loan of N701 billion was advanced to Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Company (NBET) as payment assurance facility to ensure a settlement of 80 per cent and 90 per cent of Electricity Generation Companies (Gencos) and gas supplier invoices to cover obligations in 2017 and 2018.

This was in addition to additional loan of N600 billion given to NBET by Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) as payment assurance facility covering 100 per cent of gencos’ invoices for the payment for year 2019 and part of 2020, adding that the release of the funds under this tranche is based on deliverables of the power sector recovery programme.

The NERC chairman also added a projected tariffs support worth N380 billion

and additional N60 billion for first quarter (Q1) and Q2 of 2021 has been capped by the PSRP financing plan, while federal government is in the process of securing a World Bank loan of $750 million.

On the other hand, the statistics available showed that the 11 discos recorded N1.830 trillion market shortfall between 2015 and 2019.

The breakdown showed that: AEDC recorded N233.077 billion; Benin – N161.452 billion; Eko - N154.853 billion; Enugu – N174.209 billion; Ibadan – N226.408 billion; Ikeja – N203.666 billion; Jos – N115.907 billion; Kaduna – N177.759 billion; Kano – N145.259 billion; Port Harcourt – N165.960 billion and Yola – N71.825 billion, respectively.

Momoh explained that based on the outcome of the baseline study on the level of aggregate technical commercial and collection losses conducted, federal government approved loan worth N213 billion from CBN with a view to paying off the tariffs’ shortfall for all market participants during the interim rules and outstanding legacy gas debts.

On the other hand, out of the N210.626 billion allocation from NEMSF to the Discos as at March 2020, total sum of N189.191 billion has so far been disbursed leaving a balance of N21.435 billion payment.

He added that the federal government is bearing the

FG to Review Size of Embassies Abroad, Aid Corps’ Scheme, Says Onyeama The federal government has revealed plans to review the operations of some of its embassies abroad as well the Technical Aid Corps (TAC) scheme.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Geoffery Onyeama, disclosed this yesterday when he featured as the special guest on News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) Forum in Abuja.

Onyeama said that the review became necessary due to the dwindling resources of the country and the harsh socioeconomic realities occasioned by the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to him, although government had earlier considered closure of some of its embassies, the embassies are

now to be rationalised rather than closed.

“I wouldn’t say the resources have improved but yes we are in a process of trying to rationalise.

“What we have discovered is that the process is actually more expensive closing down an embassy than to actually keep it going.

“The cost is huge to close down, so, we had to revisit it.

“When you put into a balance our interest in having presence in countries around the world to promote our economy, security and other vital national interests and our budgetary realities and limitations, we are looking at just rationalising those embassies rather than outright closure – having a lot of smart missions.

Senate Promises Quick Passage of 2010 Electoral Act Amendment Bill Deji Elumoye in Abuja

The Senate yesterday gave the assurance that the 2010 Electoral Act Amendment Bill before it would be passed before the end of 2020.

Chairman of the Senate Committee on Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Kabir Gaya, who made this known, said the Senate has gone far in the task of amending the Electoral Act. According to him, the committee had shortly before the COVID-19 pandemic held interactive workshop with stakeholders, and will soon hold a public hearing on the issue before the presentation

of the report to the Senate at plenary later in the year.

He said: “Few months before the COVID-19 pandemic, we had a retreat in Lagos with INEC commissioners; the commission chairman and other international stakeholders came also to contribute to the process, and all members had a draft of the Electoral Act amendment which we discussed.

“We also invited INEC to give us their input based on their experience in the last few elections and the problem they had with the Act, what will be their advice on the areas to amend or his own suggestions on the amendment on the existing Act.

burden of N20 per kilowatt deficit recorded from the electricity tariff, as against the N50 per kilowatt which

every customer ought to pay.

Earlier, the leader of the adhoc Committee, Hon. Hon. Ado Doguwa chided Director

General of Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) for failing to honour the invitation sent to him.

He directed the BPE Director General to appear before the Ad-hoc within 24 hours, in his own interest.

ENHANCING JUSTICE DELIVERY...

New President of Kogi State Customary Court of Appeal, Justice Bayo Olowosegun (left), and Governor of Kogi State, Mr. Yahaya Bello, during the inauguration of the judge in Lokoja...yesterday

Cinema Operators Lament N22.5bn Losses, Seek Reopening of Business Peter Uzoho Following the resumption of domestic flights’ operations, yesterday, Nigerian cinema exhibitors, distributors and employees have called on the federal government to consider their plight and urgently reopen the theatrical sector of the nation’s economy.

The Cinema Exhibitors Association of Nigeria (CEAN) in a message to the federal government, after its meeting in Lagos, passionately appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari to speedily open the

theatrical sector, including the film industry to prevent it from imminent collapse.

The association said the theatrical sector of the economy had lost over $50million, equivalent to N22.5billion and more than 5,000 industry jobs, since the federal government imposed the lockdown in March, as part of its efforts to curtail the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic in the country.

Addressing journalists after the meeting, the Chairman of CEAN, Mr. Patrick Lee, lamented the enormous

financial loss suffered by the Nigerian film industry due to the continued suspension of cinema operations, and the theatre in general as a result of the lockdown.

Lee declared that unless something drastic was done, the Nigerian film industry, which went into a free fall as a result of the lockdown, faced possible extinction.

He recalled that the Nigerian film industry, reputed to be the second biggest film industry in the world based on the number of films released, was before

COVID-19 set in, producing an average of 50 films weekly, which accounted for over N200billion in annual film industry revenue.

These, he explained, was aside the fact that the industry was providing over one million jobs per year, thus ranking as one of the highest employers of labour in the country, and second only to the agricultural sector.

The theatrical industry, according to World Bank estimates, has the potential to produce one million more jobs.

House Debunks Report of Members Testing Positive for COVID-19

Udora Orizu in Abuja

The House of Representatives has debunked the report which alleged that about 50 members of the House recently tested positive for COVID-19.

The Chairman House Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Hon. Benjamin Kalu in a statement issued

yesterday described the report as fake news and an unconscionable to attempt to weaponise this against the institution, especially when the source of such strange information is a phantom.

Kalu said: “We wish to state that there has not been any panic at the National Assembly as alleged in the publication, and that to the

best of our knowledge, it is absolutely untrue that 50 lawmakers tested positive to COVID-19. The House is certain that the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), the Federal Ministry of Health and the Presidential Task Force remain the most credible sources of data with regards to this pandemic and should be referred to

for fact verification before misinforming the public.’’ ‘’It is also instructive to note that although the House of Representatives still works five days a week at committee level, it has been sitting only once a week since the pandemic broke and this pattern will continue until the commencement of our summer break on 23rd July.’’

N’Assembly’s Workers Fault HoS on Conditions of Service Chuks Okocha in Abuja Staff of national and state Houses of Assemblies yesterday condemned the statement credited to the Head of Service of the Federation (HoSF), Dr. Folashade Yemi-Esan, on the ‘Revised Conditions of Service’ for staff of the national and state assemblies.

In a statement issued yesterday, the Concerned Staff of the National and State Houses of Assembly Legislature and signed by its National President, Salisu Funtua; National Secretary, Alindele Adesanya, and National Publicity Secretary, Aguawike Ebele, said by implication, the HoSF comments subjugated the

National Assembly, an arm of government, to her office and concluded that such revised conditions of service should be directed to the Federal Executive Council (FEC) through the National Council on Establishment.

The HoSF, in a response letter sent to her by the leadership of the National Assembly to elicit her opinion

on the resolution of the eighth National Assembly regarding the revised conditions of service for staff of the National Assembly, dated June 30, 2020, with reference HCSF/SPSO/ ODD/E&NP/649807/1, quoted copiously various sections of the 1999 Constitution as amended to buttress her submission to the leadership of the National Assembly.

China Dismisses Lawsuit Filed by Nigerians over COVID-19 Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja The Chinese Government has described the decision by Nigerians to institute a law suit against it to seek compensation as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic as shoddy, saying it has zero basis in law or international precedence.

The reaction of the Chinese

Government may not be unconnected with media reports that “Nigerians have dragged China to court to seek compensation over the COVID-19 pandemic.”

The Chinese Mission in Abuja stated this in a statement issued yesterday, where it said China, like other countries, was a victim of the virus.

It said despite being confronted by an unknown virus, China has acted responsibly to protect people’s life and health as well as safeguard global public health. The mission said: “The attempt to file frivolous lawsuits is a shoddy one, as it has zero basis in fact, law or international precedence.

“Some people are clamoring

for the so-called accountability and compensation from a victim of COVID-19, and they are fabricating the so-called ‘evidence’ for frivolous lawsuits.

“These people are trampling on international rule of law and betraying human conscience.

Their action does not square with facts, stand up to reasoning or have any legal foundation.”

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NEWS XTRA

Ekiti Begins Recruitment into Amotekun Corps

Victor Ogunje in Ado Ekiti

The Board of Ekiti State Security Network codenamed Amotekun Corps has commenced recruitment of personnel for the security network in the state.

Following the passage of the state Security Network Bill by the state House of Assembly, the state Governor, Kayode Fayemi, had in March signed into law the bill backing the establishment of the network aimed at ending the scourge of kidnappings, killings, marauding herders’ activities and

other heinous crimes in the state.

Speaking with journalists in Ado-Ekiti, the state capital, yesterday, the Amotekun Corps Commander, Brig- General Joe Komolafe(rtd), urged qualified persons in the state between the ages of 18 and 60 with the minimum qualifications of Primary School leaving certificate to apply online.

He said each applicant would be required to get a letter from their traditional rulers affirming their indigeneship of the community

and character, revealing that people with questionable behaviours would not be part of the corps.

Komolafe explained that the process would be devoid of politics and any form of inducement, saying the best and most suitable applicants would be enlisted for the security network.

The corps commander added that he got the mandate of

the governor to supervise the network as a result of his proven track records and integrity, calling on politicians to steer clear of the recruitment process.

According to him, “We have started the recruitment process.

I want to say that everyone who will work in this corps will be one not involved in any crime or unworthy act.

“Our traditional rulers will play a key role in this regard

as these applicants will need attestation letter from them to confirm whether they are from the community and never involved in any form of criminality.

“There won’t be room for politicians in this regard, and the governor has told me that he will give me a free hand to do this very important job and achieve the desire results of securing Ekiti State.”

“I won’t allow any politician to compromise the standard set for the security outfit, and I can assure you that we will not allow politics to derail us.”

Komolafe maintained that the establishment of Amotekun Corps was a child of necessity to checkmate the scourge of insecurities ravaging Southwest states, assuring residents that the corps would be above board in securing the state.

PDP Govs, Ex-minister Felicitate with Okowa at 61 Chuks Okocha in Abuja The governors elected under the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and a former Minister of State for Education, Mr. Kenneth Gbagi, yesterday felicitated with the Governor of Delta State, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa as he marked his 61st birthday.

The governors in a statement by the chairman of the PDP Governors’ Forum and Sokoto State Governor, Hon. Aminu Tambawul, hailed Okowa on behalf of the PDP Governors’ Forum According to the statement by the Director General of the PDP Governors’ Forum, Hon. CID Maduabum, the governos told the Delta State governor that: “We convey the best wishes and good tidings from the PDP Governors’ to you on this memorable occasion.

“We pray for God’s healing hands upon you and your family,” the governors said.

“You have been a focused and determined leader of men, a peace loving, humble, committed and steadfast leader who has transformed the socio-economic and political fortunes of Delta State through the SMART agenda.

On his part, Gbagi, in a statement released yesterday in Abuja, commended Okowa for his selfless efforts in the creation of wealth and jobs in Delta State through his industrialisation and economic programmes.

He noted that the re-election of the governor was an indication of the level of trust and appreciation by the people of Delta State to the five point (SMART) agenda of the Okowa-led administration.

“I rejoice with His Excellency, the Governor of Delta State, Ifeanyi Okowa, on this auspicious occasion of his 61st birthday.

“The tremendous support, which he enjoys from Deltans, speaks of their belief in his visionary agenda that has in no small way repositioned the State for greatness.

FCC to Enforce Federal Character Principle in MDAs Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja The Federal Character Commission (FCC) has revealed it plans to embark on the audit of all Ministries, Department and Agencies (MDAs) with a view to enforcing the principle of Federal Character without sacrificing merit.

Recall that the new FCC board was inaugurated by President Muhammadu Buhari on July 2 after being cleared by the Senate to steer the ship of the commission.

The Chairman of the commission, Dr. Muheeba Npom, while addressing a press conference yesterday in Abuja, said the emergence of the Federal Character Principle as enshrined in the constitution was to achieve national unity and cohesion.

She noted that over time, there was the sustenance of suspicion among the people which invariably breed disharmony, lamenting that efforts over the years to douse such tension have not met the desired result.

Npom stressed that the new board was poised to change the narratives and make the commission a platform for the promotion and convergence of the country’s multi-ethnic, multicultural and multi-linguistic society.

The chairman assured

Nigerians that the constitutional provision and enabling act would be the commission’s instrument for ensuring the implementation of the Federal Character Principle among MDAs. Npom stated that: “Since the establishment of the commission 20 years ago, public perception has remained at its lowest ebb.

However, we are poised to change the narratives. We shall work assiduously to improve on the image of the commission with a robust advocacy by engaging stakeholders in a sustained campaign of our role.

We shall, God’s willing, build on the commission’s modest achievement and quickly move to make the desired impact. I call on all of you to join us on this onerous task of reforming the commission.

“Public concerns have been expressed and we have been confronted even before our assumption of office with seemingly unethical practices.

It is of great concern that our laid down procedures and operational standards have been compromised.

We have resolved to change these narratives. To enhance the power of prosecution for any erring agency, the commission shall renew the laws and seek amendments from the National Assembly where necessary.”

EXPLAINING FOREIGN POLICY...

L-R: Head of Multimedia Unit, News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), Rev. Felix Ajide; Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Geoffrey Onyeama; and Assistant Head of NAN Multimedia, Mrs. Hajia Sani, when the minister appeared on NAN Forum to explain Nigeria’s foreign policy, at the agency’s headquarters in Abuja...yesterday

Stakeholders Urge New NEPZA Boss to Sanitise Agency Peter Uzoho Stakeholders in Nigeria’s export free zones have charged the newly appointed Managing Director of Nigeria Export Processing Zones Authority (NEPZA), a parastatal under the Federal Ministry of Trade and Investment, Professor Adesoji Adesugba to clean the rot at the agency.

In their separate interviews with journalists, the operators also hailed his appointment, saying that as an accomplished specialist in investment promotion and economic development, he will boost the ongoing efforts of the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Mr. Niyi Adebayo to reform NEPZA and incentivize investments at the export free zone. The operators charged Adesugba to use his proficiency in organisational development and institutional reforms to clean up the massive corruption in NEPZA, which has eroded investors’ confidence in the agency and denied

Nigeria massive investments at the export free zones.

One of the stakeholders, who is a maritime investment advisor, Mr. Akpan K. Akpan, told journalists that NEPZA has seemed to have defied President Muhammadu Buhari’s anti-corruption war.

“President Buhari has reformed the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) and other critical regulatory agencies, including NEPZA’s sister organisation, Oil and Gas Free Zones Authority (OGFZA).

“But efforts to clean up NEPZA seem to have achieved no results due to the institutional incompetence of the top managers of the agency and their penchant for questionable deals, which most investors, especially foreign ones, abhor.

“It is all over the news that since 2015, NEPZA’s name has become synonymous with corruption because those managing its affairs connive with few monopolists in

the zones to cut corners in fraudulent deals that defeat the federal government’s ambition of attracting investments,” Akpan explained.

Lagos-based maritime analyst, Mr. Bolaji Akindele also charged Adesugba to investigate all alleged corruption cases in NEPZA and bring the culprits to book.

“The task ahead of Prof.

Adesugba is huge. Only in December 23, 2019, the federal government set up a committee to look into the transfer of N14.37billion from the capital account of the agency to a private company, Nigeria Special Economic Zones Company. The Acting Managing-Director of NEPZA, Mr. Bitrus Daniel Dawuk, confirmed that the committee would look at some of the issues surrounding the controversial N14.37billion NEPZA fund currently domiciled at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

Unfortunately, many of the committee members are staff of NEPZA. Even Dawuk himself

was the head of accounts of the agency when the fraudulent deal was made. Nobody knows if he was involved or not but the impression among maritime operators is that they have killed the case. Prof. Adesugba has to reopen the case and bring in independent investigators to restore confidence of investors,” Akindele explained.

Also speaking on the issue, another maritime investment advisor, Mr. Thompson Jacob condemned NEPZA’s hostility towards foreign investors, saying that NEPZA colluded with few free trade zone managers to scare foreign investors.

“NEPZA is supposed to supervise and co-ordinate the various functions of various public sector organisations operating within the export processing zones and resolve any dispute that may arise among them but NEPZA has been the one generating dispute, which threatens potential investments,” he added.

Muslim Group to Equip 1,500 Persons with Leadership Skills Leading Islamic society Nasrul–lahi—li Fatih (NASFAT) has announced the birthing of HAVEK Leadership Academy to train 1,500 young leaders in its first year and 1,000,000 by the end of its 10th year of operations in 2030.

The academy has been established to teach leadership skills, address mindset issues as well as develop exceptional leaders based on sound Islamic values and ethics.

HAVEK, crafted from Haven of Knowledge, is an incorporated entity focused on

developing minds based on Islamic leadership principles and is expected to bridge the gap of non-availability of Islamic ethics, values and culture-based leadership schools and programmes in Nigeria.

According to the pioneer Chair of HAVEK, Mr. Niyi Yusuf, the academy is a deliberate initiative of NASFAT aimed at honing and producing responsible young leaders based on global best practice and Islamic principles in governance, ethics and values

for a very desirous future that guarantees sustainable and impactful leadership.

Speaking further, Yusuf mentioned that HAVEK is guaranteed and envisioned to integrate a combined curriculum of management, leadership development, missionary, entrepreneurship, citizenship and vocational training skills towards breeding well-grounded, resourced, committed, diligent and God-fearing leaders for the future. It is hoped that HAVEK will soon become

the most respected leadership development academy in Nigeria and beyond, following in the footsteps of NASFAT The academy is reported to have an ambition of training 1,500 young leaders in its first year and 1,000,000 by the end of its 10th year of operations in 2030 through its various virtual and offline programmes including certificate courses, seminars, workshops, conferences, periodicals, articles, journals and book readings focused on Leadership and Islamic ethics.

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Buratai Charges Military to Defeat Criminal Elements John Shiklam in Kaduna The Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt-Gen. Tukur Buratai, has vowed that criminal elements terrorising the Northeast and North-west regions in the country must be

defeated by the troops, as they have neither training nor the weapons which the Nigerian army have.

Speaking yesterday at the graduation of 1,142 soldiers from Special Forces training at

Ikeja Electric Nabs Mother, Daughter for Energy Theft Two residents of Fatokun Street in Abule Taylor, Off Abeokuta Expressway, Lagos, have been arraigned before Ogba Magistrate Court for energy theft under the Ikeja Electric(IE)’s network.

The duo of Latefat Shofidiya, 65 and Ekundayo Taiwo, 40 were nabbed, after initially absconding from their residence, for stealing power supply by illegally tapping from a source and passing it underground for more than a hundred metres, right into their home.

They were arraigned before Magistrate Ogunsanmi of Ogba Magistrate Court 2, on a three-count charge bothering on conspiracy to commit felony punishable under Section 411 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State; unlawful tampering with the private property of Ikeja Electric Plc. contrary and punishable under Section 340 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State; and unlawful underground connection of electricity punishable under Section 52 of the Lagos State Electric Power Sector Reform Law, 2018.

The defendants pleaded not

guilty to all counts and were granted bail in the sum of N200, 000 and two sureties in the like sum. Address of sureties to be verified by court officials. They were consequently remanded pending the perfection of the bail conditions and the case was adjourned to 12th August, 2020 for hearing.

While commenting on the issue, Ikeja Electric’s Head of Corporate Communications, Felix Ofulue pointed out that energy theft was a major challenge bedeviling the power sector. According to him, “apart from the illegality and the negative impact of the activity on the bills of neighbors, it is also a major safety threat. That is why we deploy legal means to address the anomaly” He advised customers to desist from acts that are inimical to the progress of the sector and habits that can hamper excellent service deliver. He also commended the security agencies for providing dependable support and for the role they play in protecting IE infrastructure against theft and vandalism.

NCAA Lifts Suspension on Airline Nseobong Okon-Ekong

The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has lifted the suspension, which it placed on the services of Jet Support Services (JSS). The order voiding the suspension was communicated through a memo NCAA/DG/ AIR/11/16/152 , dated July 4, 2020.

The memo was entitled, “Re: Suspension of the G-Airport Leasing Operation of Your Organisation’s Operation Specifications”.

Signed by the Direction General/Chief Executive Officer of the NCAA, Captain Musa S. Nuhu, the memo

promised that Nuhu will personally ensure investigation of the lapse, which led to the error, while putting in place measures to prevent recurrence.

Lifting the suspension, Nuhu wrote, “After careful review of documents attached to your response, the authority would like to apologise to you for the erroneous grounding of your Challenger 604 aircraft with registration number G-FABO. The suspension is hereby lifted with immediate effect and all appropriate authorities will be notified to lift any restriction that might have been placed on the aircraft.”

Senators Eulogise Osinowo Deji Elumoye in Abuja Senators took turns yesterday to eulogise the late Senator Bayo Osinowo, who was described as an asset to the ninth Senate by its President, Dr. Ahmad Lawan.

Lawal stated this at a valedictory session held for the late chairman of the Senate Committee on Industry, which was attended by his widow, three children and some members of the House of Representatives.

The Senate president, in his tribute, described Osinowo, 64, as a diligent and hardworking senator, who within one year of being in the Senate, contributed a lot to legislative duties in the upper chamber.

He stated that the late Lagos

East senator, who died on June 15, 2020, left a very deep impression that he was a friendly, jovial and unassuming person, even though he accomplished so much.”

Lawan described the deceased as a very religious person, whose experience as a legislator made him a valuable asset to the ninth Assembly.

According to the Senate president, “I would later come to know how influential and deep-rooted he was in Lagos politics particularly.

“When we were to appoint the leadership of committees, because of what I came to know about his background, I thought he was going to be an asset to the Senate Committee on Marine.

the Nigerian Army School of Infantry (NASI) in Jaji, Kaduna State, Buratai said the bandits and terrorists must be defeated because “they don’t have the training and weapons that we have.”

He charged troops to put in their best and make use of the

skills acquired during the training to tackle bandits, insurgents and other criminal elements in the their various units in the troubled regions.

According to the COAS, “You must go out there to defeat the criminals. They don’t have the training we have. They don’t have

the weapons we have.

“You may also find yourselves doing covert and overt operations, but more of covert. The training would be sustained till the desired results are achieved.

“We want you to be the hope that will finally get the criminals on their knees; battle field is

now intelligence and initiative to determine the right time to strike. “As you are being trained together, you will work together as one unit but grouped into platoons and companies in the field to continue with the Esprit de Corp and cohesion required to fight and defeat the adversaries.”

OBSERVING COVID-19 PROTOCOLS...

Security personnel screening a passenger before boarding a flight following resumption of domestic flight operations at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja...yesterday

Tambuwal Decries Politicisation of Public Service Onuminya Innocent in Sokoto Sokoto State Governor, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, has expressed worry over the alleged politicisation of the operations of public office by public office holders.

The governor made the claim yesterday when he received the National Chairman of the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB), Professor Muhammad Isah, at the Government House

in Sokoto.

The governor made the assertion against the backdrop of a revelation made by Isah that the number of Sokoto State indigenes benefitting from the conditional cash transfer (CCT) instituted by the CCB is not much.

He said contrary to what the chairman of CCB disclosed, the state government has been giving all the necessary support to the programme,

“but some undisclosed highly placed personnel in Abuja were sabotaging its efforts, and this is shortchanging the people of state.

Nonetheless, Tambuwal said the state government has established a high profile team under the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Alhaji Saidu Umar, in collaboration with the leaders handling the programme to ensure that significant improvement is

recorded on the matter.

Tambuwal also called on the federal government to properly fund the CCB to enable it perform its duties effectively.

On COVID-19 palliatives received from the federal government, the governor said they were handed over to the state Zakkat and Waqaf Commission (SOZECOM), which distributed same judiciously to the needy.

Edo 2020: ADP Rallies Support for its Candidate Oghenevwede Ohwovoriole in Abuja Contrary to reports that the Action Democratic Party (ADP) has collapsed its structure into the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the forthcoming Edo State governorship election, the party insisted that it is behind its governorship candidate, Ibio

Emmanuel.

The National Chairman of ADP, Mr. Yabagi Sani, stated this yesterday at a press briefing at the party’s national secretariat in Abuja in response to media claims that the party in Edo State has merged with the PDP in the state for the purpose of the forthcoming governorship

election.

He said it beat his imagination that a party that worths its name would engage in such trivial matters.

According to ADP, “Enemies of progress are at work.

It beats one’s imagination that a national party that is worthy of its name will indulge in frivolities and

criminal activities by making proclamations that are not true.

And you wonder what kind of political party is that.

“We gathered in the media that the publicity secretary of the PDP announced that the executives of ADP in Edo State has collapsed into the PDP, and that we have abandoned our candidate.

House Moves to Address Challenges Facing Correctional Service Udora Orizu inAbuja The House of Representatives yesterday said it would step up its oversight functions as well as work effectively with the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCS) to ensure a comprehensive implementation of the Correctional Act, 2019, geared towards addressing the challenges confronting the service.

The Chairman, House Committee on Reformatory Institutions, Hon. Anayo Edwin, made this known while declaring open a three-day retreat for members of the Committee in Abuja, saying the improvement of NCS is crucial to character reformation and nation-building.

He said though the Correctional Act 2019 is designed to address the challenges confronting the

NCS, there is need for all the stakeholders, including the federal and state governments, the private sector and the Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), to work together towards improving the NCS. The lawmaker lamented that the various correctional centres across the country are in a deplorable state, with facilities overstretched, adding that the

retreat is, therefore, designed to enable the committee fashion out a strategic plan that will aid it in the actualisation of its objectives.

According to it, “You are aware that the conditions of the Nigerian correctional centres are indeed degrading. It is said that the wealth of a nation is viewed from the state of its correctional facilities. Nigeria, in this case, would be adjudged poorly.

IG Inaugurates Zone 13 to Cater for Anambra, Abia, Ebonyi David-Chyddy Eleke in Awka The Inspector General of Police (IG), Mr. Mohammed Adamu, yesterday inaugurated the 13th Zonal Command of the Nigeria Police Force in Ukpo, Dunukofia council area of Anambra State.

The zonal command will be

in charge of Anambra, Ebonyi and Enugu States.

Speaking at the inauguration, Adamu, who was represented

by DIG Celestine Okoye, said the new zonal command was an addition to strengthening the existing security in the South-east zone.

He poured encomiums

on a businessman, Prince Arthur Eze, saying he has not only supported the police in actualising the project, but also worked with the people of Ukpo community to provide and renovate the temporary operational base.

According to the IG, “Though there were contestations about

the supposed location of the zonal command, Ukpo met every requirement as it is also within the state capital.

“The AIG to head this zonal command, Mohammed Danmallam, was selected after a painstaking search, and I assure you that he is the best man for the job.”

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˜ ΁˜ ͺ͸ͺ͸ ˾ T H I S D AY

THURSDAYSPORTS

Group Sports Editor Duro Ikhazuagbe Email duro.ikhazuagbe@thisdaylive.com 0811 181 3083 SMS ONLY

Nigeria’s Sports to Resume from Covid-19 Lockdown with Non-combat Games Duro Ikhazuagbe Sporting activities shut down early March this year to curb the spread of the Covi-19 pandemic in the country are to resume any moment from now.

The biggest casualty of the lockdown of sports activities was the 20th National Sports Festival scheduled to hold between late March and early April in Benin City, Edo State and the country’s topflight League, the NPFL. Speaking on a Voice of Nigeria (VON) radio programme, Issues in the News yesterday, Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Mr. Sunday Dare, said that plans have reached an advanced stage on

how to open up the space for sports to return after nearly four months lockdown.

The minister however insisted that non-combat sports like table tennis, tennis, badminton and track & Field will be amongst the first set to return from the forced holiday due to the pandemic.

“We hope that our athletes can get back to action soon with non-combat sports first to return.

Dare was however noncommittal on exact date Set for the return of sporting activities.

“Although no date has been set, but we must submit to the Covid-19 protocols in line with the practice all over the world,” stressed

the minister.

While admitting that all health protocols must be observed by athletes and officials, he didn’t state if fans would be allowed to also return to the stands.

“We have submitted our (health) protocol and hopefully, our athletes would

soon be back to compete,” concludes the minister.

Despite 18 out of the 20 football clubs in the Nigerian Professional Football League (NPFL) voting to end the 2019/20 football season based on the Points Per Goal (PPG) system adopted globally, the League Management

Company (LMC) and the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) have been unable to make a definitive statement on it.

Both the NFF and LMC are believed to be waiting for the directives of the Sports Ministry and the Federal Ministry of Health

in conjunction with the PTF on Covid-19 before making any pronouncements.

It is however doubtful if the clubs will accept anything contrary to what the Club Owners’ Association unanimously adopted at their last virtual meeting with the league organisers.

Super Eagles Player Tests Positive for Covid-19 Super Eagles striker Paul Onuachu has become the first high-profile Nigerian football star to test positive for Covid-19.

According to scorenigeria. com.ng, Onuachu tested positive at his KRC Gene club base in Belgium and has gone into quarantine for a week, according to Het LaasteNiuews Onuachu, who made his Super Eagles debut last year and was on the final squad to the 2019 AFCON, only recently returned to his Belgian club KRC Genk

after he accompanied Victor Osimhen for his father’s burial in Nigeria.

There are almost 700 deaths and 30,000 cases of the disease recorded in Nigeria.

Cases of Covid-19 in Nigeria have continued to rise even as the government has continued to re-open the country. The towering striker will therefore miss his team’s pre-season friendly today.

The Belgian league will kick off next month after it was aborted last month no thanks to the Coronavirus pandemic.

NWFL Cancels 2019/20 Season, Reverts to Straight League The Nigeria Women Football League (NWFL) headed by Aisha Falode in conjunction with women clubs owners and managers have unanimously agreed to cancel the 2019/20 season in the three tiers of the women’s league.

The NWFL said yesterday that the move to protect the health of the players and officials in line with the Covid-19 protocols was reached after a video conference involving chairmen of the various clubs on Tuesday.

In the communique signed after the virtual meeting, by one of the clubs’ chairmen, Abdul Sule, it was also agreed that in view of the approval of CAF to commence the CAF Women Champions League next season, it was agreed that, the 2020/2021 NPWL season be structured as straight league rather than the abridged version usually ending with a playoff.

The league leadership urged all clubs to give quality representation on the continent during the

inaugural CAF Women’s Champions League.

“Clubs should be encouraged to prepare for the 2020/2021 season contingent upon the time the protocol for resuming sporting activities are approved.

“The league will resume after approval has been granted by the Sports Minister for the resumption of sporting activities in line with the protocols of the COVID-19 Presidential Tasks Force.”

The meeting also agreed that the League Board will not compromise standards therefore, “the 2020/21 season will continue by abiding by the existing registration and every club should ensure that all necessary registration requirement should be put in place, as all registration for 2019/2020 will be carried over to 2020/21.

According to the communique, clubs are to use the period of the break to complete all registration processes including evidence of up to date payment of salaries of their players.

Paul Onuachu is first Super Eagles player to test positive for Covid-19

WTT to Create More Aruna Quadri for Africa The Chairman of the Council of World Table Tennis (WTT), Liu Guoliang believes the setting up of the council would help Africa to throw up more global super stars like Aruna Quadri as well as afford the continent the opportunity to stage one of the top events of the sport.

Speaking at the ITTF/ WTTF webinar for Africa yesterday, the former Olympic and World Champion was excited with the setting up of the WTT while hoping that Africa would embrace it with more super stars emerging from the continent.

“I am so excited with the WTT initiative and I hope that this is a good development for table tennis.

As a global sports, Africa is one of the continent that will ensure the success of WTT and our aim is to ensure we have more top stars like Aruna Quadri from Africa because he has shown to be among the most popular table tennis players in the

Aruna Quadri

world and we believe there are still many talents from the continent,” he noted.

Guoliang who is also the President of the Chinese Table Tennis Association (CTTA) called for more support from Africa to ensure that WTT becomes a reality with the hope that the continent would stage one of the major competitions in the WTTF. “I could recalled that in one of the webinars we had in China recently, Aruna Quadri

was part of it and one of the questions he asked was how Africa will be able to stage one of the top events in WTT while he also hoped that more Africans will compete in the WTT Grand Slam.

“Aruna Quadri raised a very vital question and we believe the fans and players are very important to the sport and that is why WTT will want to ensure that they (fans and players) benefit a lot from WTT,” Guoliang revealed.

In his remarks, the Chief Executive Officer of ITTF, Steve Dainton believes WTT would help the growth of the sport in Africa, while calling for more support from the continent.

He however, acknowledged that there were plans to invest more in Africa, particularly in development and promotion of table tennis.

“I am aware that Africa is eager to be part of WTT and with the quality of players that have emerged from the continent, it is very important for the continent to embrace WTT with the aim of growing the sport and make it more commercially viable.

With WTT, events in the continent will be organised professionally while the fans and players who are the main targets of WTT will benefit. We want to raise the profile of our players as well as give our fans something worthy for their interest in our sport,”Dainton said.

Super Falcons Goalkeeper, Oluehi, Joins Spanish Club Super Falcons goalkeeper, Tochukwu Oluehi, has joined Spanish Reto Iberdola club Pozoalbense on a one-year deal.

Oluehi joined the Spanish club from Nigerian Women’s Premier League club, Rivers Angels of Port Harcourt.

Pozoalbense described the signing of Oluehi as a quality addition to their fold.

The club posted on their website yesterday: “It is a complete guarantee of safety under the stick , thanks to its placement, know-how and experience.” “She has enormous cold-blood at decisive moments.

She transmits a lot of confidence to the defence as she is a very safe goalkeeper in almost all her interventions.

“She has a lot of personalities and does not hesitate at the exits. She holds up well against one-on-one moves and has leadership skills.

“She hardly ever gets complicated. Her winning (the ball) mentality will make her one of the best goalkeepers in the category.

“She is always attentive to the

movements of the opponents because she has a great intuition to read the plays.”

Oluehi previously had stints with European clubs, Bobruichanka Bobruisk of Belarus and Norwegian Toppserien club Medkila before returning to Port Harcourt for another stint with Rivers Angels.

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Thursday, July 9, 2020

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Price: N250

MISSILE Ifedayo Abegunde to Rotimi Akeredolu “Akeredolu has reduced the government to the property of his wife, son and in-laws and all government contracts go to these same set of people from Imo State� – Ifedayo Abegunde, who on Monday resigned as Secretary to the Ondo State Government, accusing Governor Akeredolu of running a family government with most of the contracts going to his wife’s kinsmen

OLUSEGUNADENIYI THE VERDICT

olusegun.adeniyi@thisdaylive.com

Magu and the Abuja Power Game i4UFWF .BOTPO T NBHB[JOF EFBMU JO DPSSVQUJPO IF BUUBDLFE UIF SJDI UIF QPXFSGVM BOE UIF GBNPVT BOE IF NBEF FOFNJFT *O B KPC MJLF UIBU ZPV DPVMEO U BGGPSE UP IBWF EJSUZ TFDSFUT PG ZPVS PXO 8JUI UIF XIPMF UPXO JUDIJOH GPS ZPV UP NBLF B TMJQ JU XBT MJLF MJWJOH JO B HPMEà TI CPXM u — Goldfish Have No Hiding Place.

I

don’t know if the detained acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr Ibrahim Magu, grew up (like some of us) reading the novels of English writer RenĂŠ Brabazon Raymond, who wrote under the pseudonym James Hadley Chase. Even so, I doubt he came across ‘Goldfish Have No Hiding Place’.

As a student of power politics, I am not surprised that Magu—who took on far too many battles while leaving his own flanks wide open—is now caught in a dangerous web from which he may never recover.

Former Defence Minister, Lt General Theophilus Yakubu Danjuma (rtd) was recently at the villa to see President Muhammadu Buhari. It was a visit borne out of rage. A billionaire oil tycoon, Danjuma had paid for the purchase of an aircraft. His cheque bounced! The order to withhold payment, he was told by his banker, came from Magu!

From what I gathered, it took some time before the president could convince Danjuma that he knew nothing about what was clearly power mongering by a reckless public official.

A few weeks before that incident, the Minna residence of former Head of State, General Abdulsalami Abubakar was raided by EFCC operatives who “turned the house upside down�. The president also got to know only after the deed had been done.

While neither Danjuma nor Abdulsalami is above the law, power should never be used to harass and ridicule people, whether high or low. And even where there are justifications, for citizens at that level, these actions should certainly not occur without the president’s knowledge. Besides, a man who would take on the high and mighty in a society like ours, including members of the president’s immediate family, must also live above suspicion. In the past five years, Magu has at different times made claims about the hundreds of billions of Naira recovered from ‘treasury looters’. But subsequent auctions for recovered assets did not follow due process, resulting in choice properties being handed out to suspected cronies. Since Abuja is a city where residents know the dirty secrets of people in power (including who is sleeping with whose spouse), the president was being inundated with petitions that Magu is not above board in his dealings.

Apparently determined to get to the root of these allegations, the president on 22 November 2017 inaugurated a three-member committee to audit all assets recovered by agencies of the federal government from 29th May 2015. Headed by Mr Olufemi Lijadu, who later became the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman, the two other members are Mr. Mohammed Nami, the current Federal Inland Revenue Service

Detained acting EFCC Chairman, Magu (FIRS) chairman and Mrs. Gloria Bibigha, a respected accountant in the office of the Auditor General of the Federation who is regarded as a specialist in forensic auditing. “It has become obvious that fundamental gaps still exist in ensuring that the recovered assets are accounted for, and managed in an accurate, transparent and logical manner,� the President told the committee.

It is noteworthy that exactly six days after the committee began its session, the then Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki publicly accused anti-graft agencies of looting the recovered proceeds. Saraki spoke at the opening session of a “Strategic Retreat on Tracking the Progress of Anti-Corruption Bills�, on why the National Assembly had become “strident about the opacity shrouding the management of recovered funds, which in many cases get re-looted by the agencies that investigated and recovered them�.

Meanwhile, the Lijadu committee was working quietly in the background, obtaining information from government agencies and seeking clarification for inconsistencies.

Although they had been given four months to complete their assignment, the trio of Lijadu, Nami and Bibigha ended up spending ten months, rummaging through thousands of pages of documents in dozens of files from the various agencies. But even before they submitted their report, the then Finance Minister, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, had already noticed discrepancies from the figures that were emerging from their work. She sent Magu a memo seeking clarification on the recoveries “based on the information available to the Office of Accountant-General of the Federation.� According to Adeosun, the attention of her ministry had been drawn to “recovery figures in media reports by the EFCC that do not reconcile with the records of the ministry�, asking Magu to “clarify where these cash recoveries have been deposited and provide accompanying evidence.�

There is no record to show that Magu responded to Adeosun’s memo. But on 11th September 2018, the president formally received the report of the Lijadu committee that raised several unanswered questions

about the recovered fixed and movable assets.

The Attorney General of the Federation and Justice Minister, Abubakar Malami, SAN, later addressed the media on salient issues in the report. Although he gave no breakdown, Malami said: “In summary, the recovered funds by the three-man committee is N769 billion cash within the period under review�.

What Malami did not disclose that day was that there were discrepancies in the EFCC figures and the disposal of some properties were done without transparency.

From that moment, Magu’s fate was sealed.

To compound his problem, the president had also received reports from a number of foreign agencies on the “lack of professionalism�

by Magu who was said to be in the habit of leaking to the media information that compromises investigations. At home, critical agencies including the Directorate of State Security (DSS) and National Intelligence Agency (NIA) view Magu as a danger to the system because, as a top presidency official told me, “he doesn’t mind bringing down institutions to get at individuals, sometimes just for media adulation�. But in the mutual game of alliances and counter-alliances (often laced with mutual blackmail) used by members of this administration to checkmate one another, Magu remained in office. But despite concerted efforts by members of his own camp to have his name sent to the Senate for confirmation, the president refused to budge.

Meanwhile, the AGF to whose office Magu should ordinarily report (but doesn’t, out of sheer arrogance of power) bided his time before writing a damning memo to the president regarding the report on recovered assets. At the same time, Magu was basking in a false sense of security because he had just recently received approval from the president to auction more than 400 expensive cars forfeited by internet fraudsters. So secure in the fantasy that his name would soon be sent to the Senate for confirmation was Magu that he had begun planning how to dispose through public auction exotic vehicles including Ferraris, Range Rovers and Mercedes. That was before he was upended on Monday afternoon.

I am not a fan of Magu and I stated the reason why in the past, especially given what my late principal, President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua told me about him. I also do not like the cult of personality he has created in EFCC. The ‘Magu Boys’ who throw themselves around within the commission act as though above the law, despite allegations of unwholesome practices against them. And I have in the past five years rebuffed all entreaties from his media minders to meet with him. But the current tragedy raises higher questions about the integrity of institutions and how the cold calculations of factions of the ruling elite can cause rupture within the polity. Whatever might have been the excesses of Magu, his current ordeal appears more the culmination of a sinister plot to exact vengeance than any attempt to promote the public good.

On Monday, a member of the Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption (PACAC), Prof Femi Odekunle, released a statement which questions not only the

entire process but the integrity of the AGF. Odekunle, who claimed to have consulted with other PACAC members, including its chairman, Prof Itse Sagay, SAN, before making the statement said “Malami has been exploiting his alleged loyalty and closeness to the president for his personal /power bloc agenda.� After highlighting a series of corrupt allegations against the AGF, Odekunle stated: “The alleged originating Malami memo, up to the current ’arrest’ seems an outcome of power-play by power blocs in the corridors of power in which Malami appears to be an arrow-head or major agent of a power bloc that is not really interested in, or in support of, Buhari’s anti-corruption fight.�

Although PACAC has distanced itself from Odekunle’s statement, his position represents the dominant view in a body whose members also belong to another ‘power bloc’ that seems to be losing out in this badly divided government. While it is not uncommon to have diverse tendencies within a government, I have never seen one like this where prominent members openly subvert one another without the president calling anyone to order. A March 2018 Senate “Report of the Ad Hoc committee on investigation of the arrest episodes of Tuesday 21st November 2017 among officers of EFCC, NIA and DSS� is illustrative of this state of affairs. The open altercation, according to the Senate report, “arose from an attempt by EFCC officials to arrest Mr Ayodele Oke (former Director-General of NIA) and Mr Ita Ekpenyong (former Director-General of DSS) and the consequent resistance of NIA and DSS officers guarding their former principals.� With the heads of these security agencies openly attacking one another at the Senate session held in camera, as disclosed in the report, the then DSS Director General, Lawal Daura alleged in his written testimony that “The method (brawn instead of brain) deployed by the current EFCC under Magu is a Gestapo style that belongs to dictatorial regimes.

The acting chairman runs the agency based on public rumours, maneouvers, gossips, political interferences from certain quarters and Marabouts.�

Now that the Magu saga has reached a denouement, there are several lessons, starting from the manner in which Daura in 2016 openly wrote to the Senate to question the judgement of the President in nominating him for the job. Even if we concede the mischief in that memo, it was obvious from the beginning that Magu lacked both the intellect and temperament to head the EFCC. And the moment the Senate refused to confirm his appointment, the president should have withdrawn his nomination. But whatever may have been his failings, Magu did record concrete achievements given his success in sending a few fat cats to learn from experience the prison conditions in Nigeria. Magu also revived the EFCC and brought in a needed fear factor before he lost his way. Now that it is obvious that the Magu era is over, the issue is about his replacement. r/05& 1JFDF DPODMVEFE PO QBHF

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