TUESDAY 18TH JULY 2023

NPA Generates N191.4bn Revenue in First Half of 2023

Remits N55.7bn to consolidated revenue fund Bello-Koko projects over N500bn revenue by year-end

Oluchi Chibuzor

The Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) has generated a total revenue of N191, 430,093,501.00 from its operations in the first half of 2023. On the other hand, the NPA, in

the same period, remitted N55,712, 565, 027.46 to the Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF) of the Federation. These disclosures were contained in a half-year 2023 performance reports released by the NPA

Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Mohammed Bello Koko.

Elucidating on the report, Bello Koko said given the existential economic headwinds both at the micro and macro levels, the

operational statistics for the first six months were reassuring, adding that they catalysed the commendable remittances to the CRF of the federal government thus far According to him, “viewed within the context of current

global economic upheavals which have affected trade volumes in all climes, our current growth trajectory is encouraging and gives us confidence to project a revenue growth of over N500 billion with concomitant increase in remittance

to CRF by end-of-year 2023, given that shipping activities peak around the second half of the year’.

“The smart policy thrust of the new administration which is

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Chuks Okocha and Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja

The National Working Committee (NWC) of All Progressives Congress (APC) has again postponed its national caucus and National Executive Committee (NEC) meetings following the removal of the party’s National Chairman, Senator Abdullahi Adamu, and National Secretary, Senator Iyiola Omisore.

To fill the vacancies in the interim, APC Deputy National Chairman, North, Abubakar Kyari, took over the running of the NWC pending the election of a substantive national chairman, while Deputy National Secretary, Festus

5TH MID-YEAR

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MEETING OF AFRICAN BODIES...

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TINUBU RETURNS FROM KENYA...

L-R: Former Kano State Governor Dr Abdullahi Umar Ganduje; Imo State Governor Senator Hope Uzodimma; Chief of Staff to the President, Hon Femi Gbajabiamila and Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume welcoming President Bola Ahmed Tinubu from Nairobi Kenya after Participating in the 5th Mid-Year Coordination Meeting of the AU at Presidential Wing of Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja... yesterday

Higher Food, Commodity Prices Raise Inflation to 22.79%

Severe in Lagos, Ondo, Kogi, others Food inflation may worsen as Russia ends black sea grains deal

James Emejo and Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) which measures the rate of change in prices of goods and commodities increased by 0.38 per cent to 22.79 per cent in June compared to 22.41 per cent in the preceding month, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) disclosed yesterday.

Year-on-year, headline inflation was higher by 4.19 per cent when compared to 18.60 per cent in June 2022, the NBS added.

According to the CPI Report for June, 2023, which was posted on the website of the statistical agency, the increase in the headline index for June was attributed to increases in some items in the basket of goods and services at the divisional level.

Food inflation rose by 4.65 per cent to 25.25 per cent year on year compared to 20.60 per cent in the preceding year.

The rise in the annual food index was attributed to increases in prices of oil and fat, bread and cereals, fish, potatoes, yam and other tubers, fruits, meat, vegetable, milk, cheese, and eggs.

Month on month, the food index increased to 2.40 per cent compared to 2.19 per cent in May.

However, core inflation, which excluded the prices of volatile agricultural produce, increased by 4.53 per cent year on year to 20.27 per cent in June compared to the 15.75 per cent recorded in the corresponding period of 2022.

The core index was attributed to the highest increases in prices of passenger transport by air, gas, vehicles, spare parts, liquid fuel, fuels and lubricants for personal transport equipment, medical services, passenger transport by road among others. Month on month, the rate dropped to 1.74 per cent compared to 1.81 per cent in May.

The Urban index also rose to 24.33 per cent year on year, up by 5.23 per cent compared to 19.09 per cent in June 2022. Month on month, urban inflation increased to 2.31 per cent compared to 2.09 per cent in the preceding month.

On the other hand, rural inflation was 21.37 per cent year on year compared to 18.13 per cent in June 2022. Month on month, the rural index increased to 1.96 per cent compared to 1.80 per cent in May.

At states level, the all-items inflation was highest in Lagos (25.75 per cent), Ondo (25.40 per cent), Kogi (25.23 per cent), while Borno (20.44 per cent), Zamfara (20.93 per cent) and Ekiti (21.06 per cent) recorded the slowest rise

Month-on-month, however, the highest price increases were recorded in Ogun (3.21 per cent), Plateau (3.05 per cent), Jigawa (3.00 per cent), while Zamfara (1.40 per cent), Delta (1.42 per cent) and Rivers (1.54 per cent) recorded the slowest rise.

Year on year, food inflation was highest in Kwara (30.80 per cent), Lagos (30.37 per cent), and Kogi (29.71 per cent), while Zamfara (21.38 per cent), Sokoto (21.60 per cent) and Borno (21.75 per cent) recorded the slowest rise.

On a month-on-month basis, also, the food index was highest in Kwara (3.82 per cent), Abuja (3.64 per cent), and Ogun (3.56per cent), while Rivers (0.75 per cent), Zamfara (1.33 per cent) and Adamawa (1.47 per cent) recorded the slowest rise. Meanwhile, the naira closed at N795.28 to a dollar on the Investors and Exporters’ window of the forex market yesterday, compared to the N803.90 to a dollar it closed last Friday.

Nigeria Faces Food Security Threat as Russia Ends Black Sea Grains Deal

Meanwhile Nigeria’s current food inflation may worsen as Russia, yesterday formally announced the suspension of its participation in the Black Sea grain deal, hours before its previous extension expired.

The agreement before it was called off, ensured that no ships would be attacked entering and leaving the Ukrainian port while a separate one also facilitated the movement of Russian food and fertiliser.

Russia's withdrawal from the pact sent shivers through African countries, including Nigeria, which is currently reeling from inflation, climate shocks and conflicts.

Nigeria’s food security remains vulnerable to major global shocks as over 50 per cent of the foods consumed by Nigerian households come from purchased sources, according to the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).

Also, Nigeria is one of the 10 countries with the highest number of

people in food crisis, according to the 2022 Global Report on Food Crises.

A report by the US Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agriculture Service (FAS) Global Agricultural Information Network, further stated that Nigeria traditionally gets much of its wheat from the Black Sea region and would therefore be impacted. Wheat is the third most consumed grain in Nigeria and by the end of Q3 2021, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed that Nigeria imported durum wheat and mackerel worth N88.46 billion and N30.69 billion, respectively, from

Naira closes at N795.28 on I & E window

Russia.

The Black Sea grains deal, brokered by the United Nations and Turkey in July 2022, helped bring down global food prices and allowed aid agencies to access hundreds of thousands of tonnes of food at a time of rising needs and scarce funding.

Nearly 33 million metric tonnes of corn, wheat and other grains have been exported by Ukraine under the agreement, which has been extended twice since it was first signed. Kyiv has also contributed 725,200 (2.2 per cent) tonnes to the

UN World Food Programme (WFP).

The reason for Russia’s decision is not far-fetched. Some days ago, Russian President Vladimir Putin during an interview said “not one” of Moscow’s conditions for the deal to function had been met.

“I want to emphasise that nothing was done, nothing at all. It’s all one-sided,” said Putin.

"The obligations recorded in the relevant Russia-UN memorandum to remove obstacles to the export of Russian food and fertilisers still remain unfulfilled,” Putin said , according to a statement by the

Kremlin.

Russia has also claimed that not enough grain was being sent to the poor countries, while the UN has argued that the deal had helped those states by lowering food prices by over 20 per cent across the world.

The end of the deal means that the pressure by the United Nations and the diplomatic shuttle between Russia and Ukraine by seven African leaders, including the presidents of the Comoros, Senegal , South Africa and Zambia , as well as Egypt’s

FG Confirms Outbreak of First Anthrax Case in Nigeria

Reels off control measures

Onyebuchi Ezigbo and James Emejo in Abuja

The Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development yesterday confirmed the first outbreak an anthrax case in Niger State.

This was announced in a statement issued by the Chief Veterinary Officer of Nigeria (CVON), Dr. Columba Vakuru, who expressed concern over the development.

Anthrax is a serious infectious disease caused by the spore-forming bacterium Bacillus anthracis and primarily affects animals including as cattle, sheep, and goats, but it can also be transmitted to humans.

The disease can occur in three main forms namely cutaneous anthrax, inhalational anthrax, and gastrointestinal anthrax.

The CVON stated that his office was notified of animals manifesting symptoms of suspected case of anthrax in a farm in Suleja, Niger State, adding that the case was in a multi-specie animal farm comprising of cattle, sheep and goats located at Gajiri, along Abuja-Kaduna express way, where some of the animals had symptoms including oozing of blood from their body openings - anus, nose, eyes and ears.

He said rapid response team from the federal and states government

NCDC moves to coordinate response

and a health professional team visited the farm to conduct preliminary investigations and collected samples from the sick animals.

“Subsequent laboratory tests by the National Veterinary Research Institute laboratory confirmed the diagnosis, marking the first recorded case of anthrax in Nigeria in recent years and after the report of an outbreak of anthrax in Northern Ghana few weeks ago. All animals affected have died,” he said.

The federal government however, assured that the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development in collaboration with the Niger State government have taken proactive measures to ensure the outbreak is controlled and quickly contained in the country.

The CVON added that some of the measures so far taken was to quarantine affected farm, deployment of anthrax spore vaccines to the affected and adjoining farms to vaccinate in-contact animals, educating the farm workers of the affected farms on symptoms, preventive measures and what to do when one encounters a suspected case, adding that plans were also underway to conduct nationwide vaccination of cattle, sheep and goats against the deadly disease.

The ministry however, urged all

livestock owners to remain vigilant and promptly report any suspicious illness or deaths in their animals and avoid contact with sick or dead animals and their products.

It further urged Nigerians to exercise caution when buying animals - cows, camels, sheep, goats, and other livestock - from Nigerian states bordering Benin, Chad, and Niger, and from Ghana and Togo via waterways – and not to slaughter animals at home, but rather make use of abattoirs or slaughter slabs.

Meanwhile, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) in conjunction with the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD), yesterday, activated the incident management system (IMS) at level two with an incident manager appointed for effective coordination of the response.

A statement jointly signed last night by Chief Veterinary Officer of Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Vakuru and Director General of the NCDC, Dr Ifedayo Adetifa, stated that contact tracing of persons and livestock exposed to the index cases has commence.

The statement said though human exposure had been reported, there were no reports so far of human

symptoms or mortality.

"The FMARD and the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) are currently working closely with the Niger State Ministries of Health and Agriculture to identify, isolate and follow up all exposed persons.

"The NCDC has activated the incident management system at level two today with an incident manager appointed for effective coordination of the response. The risk assessment conducted by the human health sector today remained high for the likelihood of outbreak and its potential impact among humans.

"The FMARD was able to diagnose anthrax and provide early intervention within 48 hours of notification of suspected animal deaths.

“The Government of Nigeria, through the FMARD and NCDC and other one-health stakeholders, have put measures in place to ensure any outbreak of Anthrax in Nigeria is quickly detected, controlled, and contained. These measures include; the establishment of the One-Health Anthrax Technical Working Group led by the FMARD to coordinate the national response, activation of a National Incident Management System by both FMARD and NCDC".

PHOTO: GODWIN OMOIGUI.

Let’s keep hope alive on renewal of agreement, says Okonjo-Iweala

FLAG-OFF OF THE PORT HARCOURT RING ROAD PROJECT...

NEPC: Non-oil Exports Earned $2.54bn at Half-Year

The Executive Director/Chief Executive, Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC), Dr. Ezra Yakusak, yesterday disclosed that the country generated $2.54 billion from non-oil exports in the first half of the year (H1 2023).

This was a slight decline of 0.09 per cent compared to the $2.59 billion

recorded in H1 2022.

Speaking at the presentation of the Half-Year Progress Report on the Non-oil Export Performance for 2023, Yakusak attributed the marginal decline to the February/ March 2023 general election and subsequent transition in government which possibly affected economic activities.

He also stated that changes

Tinubu Back in Abuja After Attending AU Summit in Kenya

President Bola Tinubu has returned to the nation's capital, Abuja, after attending the 5th mid-year coordination meeting of the African Union (AU) in Nairobi, Kenya.

Tinubu, arrived the Presidential Wing of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja yesterday evening and was received by a number of top government functionaries including the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume; Chief of Staff to the President, Hon Femi Gbajabiamila; Imo State Governor, Senator Hope Uzodinnma, and former Kano State governor, Dr

Abdullahi Umar Ganduje.

The president who attended the AU summit in his capacity as the Chairman of the Authority of the Heads of State and Government of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), left Abuja on Saturday.

While in Nairobi, Tinubu joined other African leaders to draft a declaration based on deliberations and conclusions arrived at the meeting, reaffirmed Africa's unity and strength, firmly rejecting any notion of a new scramble for Africa.

He also showcased his commitment to strengthening the ECOWAS Standby Force, with the aim to deter coups and combat terrorism in the sub-region.

in global economic conditions, including a slowdown in demand or decline in commodity prices impacted negatively on non-oil export performance.

Nonetheless, the NEPC boss said in spite of the slight dip in non-oil export returns, “I am still optimistic that we shall reach the $5 billion mark we had earlier projected at the beginning of the year.”

He stressed that the non-oil export sector currently remained the only credible alternative to increasing foreign exchange earnings for the country.

He, therefore, urged Nigerians to imbibe an export culture that will complement the efforts of the

council and the federal government in promoting the export of Made-in-Nigeria products in the international market.

Citing data from the various preshipment inspection agents, he said a total of about 3.94 million metric tons of products were exported in the review period, adding that 224 different products ranging from manufactured, semi-processed, solid minerals to agricultural commodities were exported.

Yakusak, said of the top 15 products exported within the period, urea, cocoa beans, cashew nut/kernels, sesame seed and soya beans/meal were top on the list respectively.

According to him, about 1.09 million metric tons of products worth $175.476 million, representing 6.91 per cent of the total exports, were exported to 13 ECOWAS countries.

He said 859 companies participated in the non-oil export trade in the period under review, adding that Indorama-Eleme Fertilizer and Chemical Limited took the lead with $282.55 million while Dangote Fertilizer Limited recorded the second-highest value of $199.87 million.

As part of the various initiatives to boost non-oil receipts, the NEPC boss said the council and the Nigerian Universities Commission (NUC) recently agreed to partner towards

the introduction of Export Promotion as a course of study in the nation’s universities.

He said in fulfilment of that collaborative effort, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) would soon be signed between both agencies, adding that with over 200 universities in the country, the course when introduced would go a long way in making undergraduates employers of labour and self-reliant even after graduation.

He said, “This initiative will further complement the efforts of NEPC at promoting the Export4Survival Campaign which is targeted at increasing the export of Nigeria’s non-oil products.”

Akume: Rosy Future Awaits Nigerians After Pains of Subsidy Removal

The Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume has said the living conditions of Nigerians would substantially improve after the negative impact on the cost of living on the commoners caused by the removal of oil subsidy.

The SGF gave the assurance yesterday, when he received in his office a delegation of the North

Central People’s Forum(NCPF), led by Sardauna Plateau, Senator Jeremiah Useni.

He urged Nigerians to bear the pains of the removal of subsidy on petrol and support the Tinubu administration to address the welfare of the people.

“This government will not disappoint Nigerians. The President means well but we can go wrong. When we go wrong, correct us,”

Maize Farmers Move to Create One Million Jobs

Francis Sardauna in Katsina

The President of the Maize Association of Nigeria (MAAN), Dr. Bello Abubakar Annoor, announced plans by the association to create one million jobs through regional agricultural commodity exchange.

He disclosed this yesterday, during the flag-off of the 2023 wet season farming by the association under its Private Partnership Programme (PPP) in Katsina. Annoor said: “We dedicated and determined to partner with various business associates and agreed to come up with this Private Partnership Programme (PPP) business model which we flagged off today (Monday).

“Our business model anchored on the PPP model entails, among other things, to ensure creation of one million jobs through the regional agricultural commodity exchange.”

He said MAAN in collaboration with other associations designed a sustainable private public sector business driving model to ensure

food security, employment creation and provision of raw materials to industries.

He added that the association was committed to ensuring the full benefits of commodity exchange, warehousing, products processing and marketing were fully exploited to the benefit of Nigerians.

The MAAN president, however, reminded Nigerians that the maize production in the country had increased from eight million metric tons in 2015 to 20 million metric tons in 2020.

Annoor, averred that the association employed 360 youths as tractor operators, while its membership had

risen from 120,000 million to five million members within five years.

In his remarks, the State Governor, Dikko Umaru Radda, represented by his deputy, Hon. Faruq Lawal Jobe, described agriculture as the major way of employment creation and economic revitalisation.

the SGF said.

He listed the bold steps taken by Tinubu so far; which he said impacted the national economy and sent positive signals to policy makers, local and international, that the government meant business.

The Chairman, National Executive Committee of NCDF, Sani Ndanusa, said members came on behalf of the people of the North Central zone to congratulate the SGF on his appointment and wish him a successful tenure.

He urged Akume to take absolute political control of the zone by having quarterly meetings with the North Central Governors’ Forum, NCPF leadership and other critical political office holders to discuss developmental strides of the zone.

He described the OSGF as a veritable engine room of the government and urged him to attract key appointments to the North Central zone, which should include capable members of the NCPF.

Ndanusa, said the forum was working hard, engaging all human resources at its disposal to tap available opportunities in the zone including its land mass, water resources and mineral deposits.

“We are aspiring to have a commission to reposition North Central zone,” he said.

Former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, General Useni lauded Akume's choice as SGF as a well-deserved appointment, describing him as a seasoned administrator and politician who deserved the position he occupies in the new administration

Among members of the delegation were former deputy governors of Benue State, Chief Steven Lawani and Chief Jacob Tilley-Gyado; Ambassador Ayuba Ngbako, Prof Sheni Doknan, Dr Mohammed Santuraki, Ambassador. Mohammed Mabdul, Hon. Yekini Alabi, Hon Mrs Mary Nwagulu and the Secretary General of NCDF, Khaleel Bolaji.

Dangote Group Tasks Journalists on Environmental Sustainability Reporting

George Okoh in Makurdi

The Dangote Group of companies yesterday, tasked journalists on reportage of environmental sustainability for the development of the country.

The Executive Director, Climate Africa Media Initiative Centre (CAMIC), Alhaji Aliyu Akoshile, made the call during the commencement of a twoday Environmental Journalism Workshop training for 50 media personnel at Obajana Cement

Plant in Kogi.

Akoshile, said environment in which we all live, “is a very important subject matter that journalists should develop interest in and give it prominence in their reportage but the reverse is the case.”

“What journalists and the entire people of Nigeria should know that environmental sustainability is an attitude and a way of life, which all and sundry must play a role to keep our environment safe.

“The environment has been

there before us and we need it more than it needs us, therefore, we must protect it from harm for our own good as humans.

“Of recent, the International Press Institute (IPI) reports raised the alarm that environmental reporting has not been given its utmost priority place in the media,” he said. According to him, if the environment was not conducive, there could not be free movement of both human and animals nor activities like sports, businesses and other important activities.

Head, Dangote Academy, Mr. Wale Adedeji, said Dangote and Obajana Cement Plant were doing the best to ensure that the environment was very safe for all, including our host communities and business partners by imploring various safety measures.

“Environmental sustainability needs collective effort because it’s an attitude and a way of life which we all have to play a role to make conducive.

“We should know that we need the environment more than it needs

us, therefore, we should protect it for our own good,” he said.

Also, the General Manager, Human Resources, Dangote Plant, Mr. Ademola Adeyemi, said the company was doing a lot of Community Social Responsibility (CSR) in the four communities it was operating in Kogi.

He said two of the communities where mining of the raw materials were being done, many facilities like healthcare and educational, water and electricity supply were made available to the people.

Olawale Ajimotokan in Abuja

James Emejo in Abuja

L-R: Former Rivers Governor, Dr. Peter Odili, immediate Past Governor of Rivers State, Mr Nyesom Wike and Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara , at the flag-off of the Port Harcourt Ring Road project ... yesterday.

Deji Elumoye in Abuja

APC NATIONAL WORKING COMMITTEE (NWC) EMERGENCY MEETING...

L-R: All Progressives

PDP Replies APC, Says Threat to PEPC Subversive, Move to Intimidate Judiciary

LP: Position of law can't be cause for anarchy

Chuks Okocha and Emameh

Gabriel in Abuja

Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), yesterday, said the threat contained in the written address by lawyers to President Bola Tinubu and All Progressives Congress (APC) to the Presidential Election Petitions Court (PEPC) was a pre-emptive move to intimidate the judiciary.

Labour Party (LP) also condemned Tinubu for saying interpreting the law as provided

in the constitution on the 25 per cent of lawful votes cast in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) could “lead to absurdity, chaos, anarchy and alteration of the very intention of the legislature,” adding that the position of the law cannot cause anarchy.

PDP, in statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Hon. Debo Ologunagba, said, "The statement by the lawyers in the said written address threatening crisis and anarchy in the country

in the event of the court ruling that their clients did not meet the constitutionally required 25 per cent votes in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) is subversive, an affront to democratic order, and assault on the corporate existence of the nation.

"It is alarming and disturbing that the APC externalised to the public their final written address in which they also threatened national peace if the court upholds the clear provisions of Section 134 of the

War against Corruption: NBA Introduces Anti-money Laundering, Terrorism-financing Law to Practice

The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) has stepped up the fight against corruption in the country by introducing anti- money laundering and terrorism financing law into the practice direction of lawyers in the country.

The law which would take effect from January 1, 2024, is part of efforts by the legal profession to take its rightful place in the development of the country.

National President of the NBA, Mr. Yakubu Maikyau, disclosed this at the opening of the 2023 Nigeria Bar Association- Section on Legal Practice, NBA-SLP Annual Conference, holding in Abuja.

"The fight against corruption in Nigeria is a legal fight, only lawyers can fight this fight", Maikyau said, just as he warned politicians to,

The NBA president subsequently disclosed that in enhancing the war on corruption, the NBA decided to add anti-money laundering law into the legal practice, adding that the law has been gazetted and would take effect from January 1, 2024.

"We will self-regulate ourselves and be at the vanguard against money laundering and terrorism financing", he said, adding, "charting the course of Nigeria, building the country is the task of lawyers".

Chairman of the Central Planning Committee for the 2023 annual conference, Paul Harris Ogbole, in a welcome urged participants to take advantage of the conference to deepen their knowledge of globalisation in the practice of law.

According to Ogbole, there exists varieties of opportunities for lawyers

on the global scene, which would be unveiled at the conference for the benefit of lawyers.

Also speaking, the Chairman of the NBA-Section on Legal Practice, Chief Ferdinand Orbih, stated that the age of artificial intelligence has widened the legal space which lawyers should take advantage of.

The senior lawyer said the theme, “Legal Practice Without Borders,” was chosen to engage with global issues of transformation in the legal profession whose challenges were thrown up by medico-legal solutions to healthcare needs.

Orbih, added that, "The age of Artificial Intelligence (Al), the largely unexplored legal spaces, et al. ‘Legal Practice Without Borders’ interrogates the widening scope of the legal services market and lifts the veil of jurisdictional stonewalling."

Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended), with regard to the mandatory and statutory requirements for which a candidate in a presidential election can be declared winner.

"The threats, either through counsel or officials of the APC, is calculated to intimidate and harass the judiciary and, indeed, Nigerians."

Ologunagba said PDP held that “the clear intent of the APC was to blackmail the court and emasculate the independence of the judiciary to discharge its duties in accordance with the dictates of the law. This action is ostensibly to set the stage to orchestrate violent crisis in various parts of the country with the intention to further blackmail the PEPC.

"We ask: why is the APC externalising their final written address to the public? Is the APC

being pre-emptive and now seeks to heighten tension, subvert the judicial process and trigger anarchy, having realised the weakness of their case before the PEPC? "

PDP cautioned and emphasised that Nigeria was a country under the rule of law, adding, "The statutory requirements for a winner in a presidential election as provided by the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended) and the Electoral Act, 2022 are clear and unambiguous."

Similarly, LP, in a statement by its acting National Publicity Secretary, Obiora Ifoh, described the statement in Tinubu’s final written address to the presidential election tribunal as one that could be clearly interpreted as interference in the duties and responsibilities of the judiciary.

Ifoh said it was worried that the statement, which formed part

of the president's submissions and was contained in his final written address against LP's petition pending at the PEPEC, and meant to be in the exclusive custody of the court, was leaked to the media.

He said LP "still does not know the reason behind this act of desperation, even when the matter is still pending in court. We will, however, be careful not to term the action as ‘subjudice’.

LP said in the statement, "The Labour Party thinks that the statement was unnecessary since the matter is already before the court, and going ahead to pontificate on it could be construed as interference in the duties and responsibilities of the judiciary.”

Ifoh went further to remind the president that "there are no sentiments when it comes to matters of law”.

FAAN Explains Why It Diverted Kano Flights to Other Airports

The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) has explained that maintenance work on the runway of the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport forced it to divert flights to other airports.

THISDAY learnt that flights were diverted to Lagos and Abuja, due to safety concerns, as airfield lighting at the runway in Kano malfunctioned during on-going maintenance.

FAAN, in a statement signed

by the Director, Public Affairs & Consumer Protection, Abdullahi Yakubu-Funtua, explained that the airfield maintenance team of the agency observed that the runway lighting was not coming on after the scheduled daily maintenance work of replacing old and weak airfield cables with new ones at runway 06/24 (Kano airport runway). According to the agency, the maintenance team immediately initiated fault finding procedures along the cable route to identify the problem and restore power to

PH Ring Road: Fubara Says Affected Communities will Be Compensated

Blessing Ibunge in Port Harcourt

Rivers State Governor, Mr. Siminalayi

Fubara, has assured of timely compensation for affected communities of the Port Harcourt Ring Road project, which transverses six local government areas of the state.

Fubara, made the assurance yesterday, during the flag-off of the project, performed by the former governor Nyesom Wike, at the UTC junction, Port Harcourt.

According to Fubara, the inherent individual differences occasioned by the diverse ethnic groupings notwithstanding the project, would

serve as a bold effort taken in connecting Rivers people together and fostering greater unity among them.

He pointed out that other previous administrations attempted to execute the project but could not.

The Rivers State governor commended Nyesom Wike for initiating the New Rivers Vision that is serving as the building template to the development of the State as being consolidated by his administration. According to him: "Today, we are here to put mortar to brick to that contract signing. Some of you had doubts when we signed the contract whether we will start

it. But we did not just sign it, we have paid for it and we are here to commence the job.

"The importance of this road is not just connecting Eleme to Etche, Etche to Ikwerre local government areas but connecting our people."

The governor who emphasised that there was no meaningful development without road accessibility, urged the various communities that the project will traverse to cooper- ate with the contractor without sabotaging it.

Performing the flag-off, former governor, Wike recalled how the administration he served as Chief-

of-Staff, had set money aside but could not muster the political will as demonstrated by Fubara's government to kick-start the Port Harcourt Ring Road project barely weeks after assuming office.

He lauded Fubara, saying that the bold initiative showed leadership. He also commended Fubara for the courage and political will to embark on the landmark project, describing him as "a man of few words but with the utmost capacity to deliver great development to the people of Rivers State".

On his part, the Rivers State Commissioner for Works, Dr. George-

Kelly Alabo explained that the Ring Road project is 50.15km long and has varied widths of between 7.6m and 29.2m where there are service lanes with 6 flyovers and one river crossing bridge.

Also speaking, Managing Director of Julius Berger Nigeria Plc, Dr. Lars Ritcher, applauded the Rivers State Government for embarking on the project which will be significant to the collective prosperity of the people. He added that the project is a shining example of modern infrastructural development designed to connect people to communities and to opportunities.

the airfield lighting circuit. According to the statement, it was however observed that the entire runway circuit was affected, leading to the failure of the Runway 06/24 edge light, the taxiway alpha edge light, PAPI (Precision Approach Part Indicator) and signage.

“As at 1900hrs local time, the fault had yet to be isolated and power supply to the runway could not be restored, leaving the runway in a total blackout which affected night operations. So, arriving flights had to be diverted to alternate airports.

‘At 2300hrs, after all efforts to restore power supply to the runway failed, Operations department initiated a NOTAM (notice to airmen) action for the closure of runway 06/24 between the hours of 2300hrs on 15th July to 07:00hrs of 16th July, 2023,” it added.

FAAN stated that it regretted any inconvenience caused by the diversion of the two Kano-bound aircraft to Lagos, due to the unserviceability of the runway lights of runway 06/24,” the agency said.

“Night operations have since resumed as new cables were installed on Sunday, 16 July, 2023 leading to restoration of all runway lights before commencement of night operations,” the agency said.

Alex Enumah in Abuja

Chinedu Eze

Congress (APC) National Vice chairman, North-west Salihu Lukman; National Vice chairman South-East, Ijeoma Arodiogbu; Deputy National Secretary, Festus Fuanter, and the APC National Deputy chairman North/Acting national chairman, Sen. Abubakar Kyari addressing newsmen after their National Working Committee (NWC) emergency meeting held at the party secretariat, Abuja... yesterday

"quit telling us that we are the ones in your ways".

Deregulation: NMDPRA Grants Petrol Import Licence to 56 Oil Marketing Firms

Peter Uzoho and Oluchi Chibuzor

In furtherance of the deregulation of the downstream sector of the Nigerian oil and gas industry, the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) said it had issued licence to import petrol into the country to 56 oil marketing companies.

Chief Executive Officer of NMDPRA, Mr. Farouk Ahmed, revealed this yesterday in Lagos, during a stakeholder engagement session with petroleum marketers, disclosing that 10 of the 56 firms have shown commitment to supply products from July to September 2023.

At the meeting attended by marketers belonging to the Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN) and the Depots and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria ( DAPPMAN) as well as the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC), Ahmed said the essence was to encourage the marketers to come into the market.

Ahmed added, "You know, if you recall on May 29, Mr. President said the subsidies were gone, but we encouraged all the marketing companies who are interested in importing to come forward for

licensing to import.

"So this meeting I called is to thank some of them that have taken that offer. Now, we have 56 marketing companies that applied for and obtained a license to import Premium Motor Spirit and 10 indicated their ability in the Q3, that is July to September.

"Out of those 10 again, three of them that have already landed cargoes are Prudent Energy, AY Ashafa and Emadeb. 11Plc and others are also indicating interest to import in August and September. So it's just to encourage them to import so that they can displace NNPC's dominance in the market because this market is open for all to compete, and we want to encourage all the marketing companies to come in and continue their normal businesses in this arena.``

He stated that the subsidy removal had led to the drop in the country's petrol consumption to an average of 47.3 millions liter per day (mlpd) as against 65 mlpd before subsidy eradication.

"So for the month of January we averaged 62.5mlpd, February, we had 62.1 mlpd, in March, we had the highest after the election 71.4mlpd, April 67.7mlpd, May 66.6mlpd, in June, it dropped to 49.5mlpd and as of 17th July today, we had 46.3 mlpd", he explained.

With the liberalisation of the petrol market, he stated that end users would have more options on where to buy the products.

"The implication for the end users is that they have choice and that is the whole idea of a free market. They have a choice where they go to because if NNPC was the sole importer that means they have advantage. But we don't want any dominant player in the

market. So we thought it would be nice to give them words of encouragement and ask them if there is any area that they need support from the regulator or the government so we can encourage them to participate", the NMDPRA chief executive said. Assuring consumers of the agency's determination to ensure effective regulation and monitoring of the industry to prevent collision

within the sector, Ahmed added that the regulator would continue the monitoring oversight of the industry.

He said NMDPRA was working with Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) in terms of consumer protection to avoid a marketer getting undue advantage and shortchanging Nigerians.

"But most importantly is the quality of products coming in so

HIGHER FOOD, COMMODITY PRICES RAISE INFLATION TO 22.79%

prime minister and top envoys from the Republic of Congo and Uganda did not yield much results.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, in response to Russia’s decision, said Kyiv was prepared to continue grain exports despite Moscow's backing out of the deal.

“Even without the Russian Federation, everything must be done so that we can use this Black Sea corridor. We are not afraid. We have been approached by companies that own ships. They said that they are ready” to continue shipments, Zelensky said through his spokesperson, Sergiy Nykyforov.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said that he believed the Russian president wanted to continue the deal, despite the statement yesterday and hoped talks will progress on

the issue after Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov held talks on Monday.

The emergency director in East Africa for the International Rescue Committee (IRC), Shashwat Saraf, told Reuters the impacts would be far-reaching in Somalia, Ethiopia and Kenya, which have been facing the Horn of Africa's worst drought in decades.

Beyond the direct impact of reduced supply from Ukraine, one of the world's largest grains suppliers, instability in global markets would likely lead countries with modest surpluses to hold back exports, said Saraf.

Nigeria was projected to import 6 million tonnes of wheat in the 2022-23 marketing year, a 3 per cent

AFTERMATH OF ADAMU, OMISORE'S OUSTER, APC NWC POSTPONES CAUCUS, NEC MEETINGS

the party had serious implications for national unity and well-being by zoning the chairmanship to the South-east.

The APC leadership had postponed the caucus and NEC meetings, initially scheduled to hold on the 10th and 11th of July, respectively, to allow President Bola Tinubu to participate. But the meetings, which were rescheduled to 18th and 19th of July, respectively, were again postponed following yesterday’s resignation of Adamu and Omisore.

THISDAY had yesterday reported the resignation of both Adamu and Omisore based on the president's directive to governors to get rid of Adamu. He was alleged to be working at cross purposes with the Tinubu government.

The governors immediately

swung into action by sending emissaries to Adamu urging him to resign. Adamu saw the handwriting on the wall and immediately threw in the towel on Sunday ahead of Monday’s meeting of the NWC he had called last week.

Members of the NWC arrived early enough for the meetings where the combined fate of Adamu and Omisore was sealed.

Surprisingly, Omisore arrived the party's secretariat at 11:20am, but he didn't stay for long before leaving the secretariat for Adamu's house.

Omisore, who declined to speak with journalists, was said to have gone to Adamu's house to know why he was not at the party’s secretariat.

However, a party source

revealed that Omisore came to the secretariat to drop his resignation letter.

NWC members who attended Monday’s meeting included Kyari; Deputy National Chairman (South), Emma Eneukwu; National Vice Chairman (North-west), Salihu Lukman; National Organising Secretary, Suleiman Arugungu; Deputy National Organising Secretary, Nze Duru; National Vice Chairman (North-east), Salihu Mustapha; National Vice Chairman (North-central), Muazu Bawa; National Vice Chairman (South-west), Issacs Kekemeke; National Vice Chairman (Southeast), Ejoroma Arodiogu; Fuanter.

Addressing journalists at the end of the NWC meeting held at the party's secretariat, Kyari announced that both Adamu

and Omisore had resigned their positions.

Adamu was appointed national chairman of the party in March 2022 after he was anointed for the position by former President Muhammadu Buhari.

Kyari stated, "As members of the National Working Committee of the All Progressives Congress (APC), we are here to address you to the happenings and recent developments regarding the party.

"The NWC wishes to inform you of the resignation of the national chairman, Senator Abdullahi Adamu, and that of the national secretary, Senator Iyiola Omisore.

"And with this development, and according to the constitution of the All Progressives Congress (APC), it is now incumbent on my humble self, Senator Abubakar

60 LAWYERS ASK COURT TO JAIL DSS DG FOR DISOBEYING ORDER ON EMEFIELE'S RELEASE

The consortium of lawyers led by Mr. Maxwell Opara and Ahmed Tijani, specifically are asking the court to commit the DSS DG to prison until he purges himself of the contempt.

Since Emefiele's suspension and arrest since June 10, 2023, the DSS, last week, charged him with illegal possession of firearms and ammunition.

A copy of the charges showed that the case was filed on Thursday (13 July), the same day an FCT High Court gave the DSS one-week ultimatum to either charge him in court or release him.

The security agency accused Emefiele of possessing a singlebarrel shotgun (JOJEFF MAGNUM 8371) without a licence; an offence said to be contrary to Section 4 of the Firearms Act, and punishable under Section 27 (1b) of the same Act.

In the second count, the DSS charged him with illegally possessing 23 rounds of live ammunition (cartridges) without a licence. The offence was also said to be contrary to Section 8 of the Firearms and punishable under Section 27 (1) (b)(il) of the same Act.

However, in their motion filed before the court for the issuing of Form 48 and Form 49, which are the forms to commence proceedings to commit a contemnor to prison, the lawyers said by the judgments and orders of Justice M. A. Hassan, Justice Hamza Muazu and Justice Bello Kawu, the DG DSS ought to have released Emefiele from detention.

In the affidavit in support of the application, the consortium deposed to the fact, Hon. Justice M. A.

Hassan, restrained the respondents in that suit, particularly, the State Security Service from arresting, detaining, or interrogating Emefiele for offences connected to terrorism financing, money laundering, round tripping, financial crimes of national security dimension etc.

It was their deposition that despite the clear and positive orders of Justice Hassan, the State Security Service still went ahead to arrest and detain Emefiele and had detained him for well over a month while shopping for evidence “which does not exist.”

Addressing newsmen shortly after filing their processes at the Registry of the court, Opara said the group would pursue the matter to its logical conclusion and ensure that the DSS DG was sent to prison so as to serve as a deterrent to other heads of security agencies and top government officials that contempt of court and gross abuse of their offices for personal vendetta would no longer be tolerated.

Also, the lawyers called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to immediately relieve Bichi of his appointment as DG of the DSS, “for having obviously misled the President that Emefiele had committed heinous crimes against the State only for him to now file a charge of possession of a validly registered pump action rifle against him.”

“Is it not clear enough to Nigerians that that the SSS is persecuting Mr. Emefiele if after holding him for five weeks they can only file a ridiculous charge of possessing a validly registered pump action gun?” Mr. Opara asked. He continued: “If possessing

a validly registered pump action gun is a crime worthy of being held in perpetuity, what has the SSS done to the person threatening Nigerians from a particular section of the country with an assault rifle? This clearly shows the travail of Mr. Emefiele is more for political reasons than for any other.”

He concluded by questioning that assuming there was no valid court order, since the DSS had been unable to find any evidence against Mr. Emefiele, he was entitled to his release.

“How much more now that three different courts have ordered his release, the SSS is still holding him in unlawful detention and violating all his rights, hence the reason why the consortium will ensure Bichi ends up being committed to prison,” he added.

Meanwhile, a civil rights advocacy group, the Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria, (HURIWA), yesterday, said it was shameful that the DSS which had failed to arrest ex-Niger Delta agitator, Asari Dokubo, was pressing charges against the suspended Governor of the CBN, for alleged illegal possession of firearms.

HURIWA, in a statement by its National Coordinator, Emmanuel Onwubiko, also queried why all the bandits brandishing military grade weapons in videos have not been arrested and prosecuted by the DSS.

Onwubiko said, “The fresh charge against Godwin Emefiele is laughable. More laughable is that the DSS spent several man-hours, resources, to track the suspended CBN governor.

decrease over the previous season, according to a Global Agricultural Information Network report from the Foreign Agricultural Service of the US Department of Agriculture (USDA).

In 2021, Nigeria imported 51 percent of its wheat from Russia, Lithuania, Latvia, and other Baltic countries. Wheat from Russia, Ukraine, and other Black Sea countries remains the cheapest option for many milling companies in Nigeria.

Beyond the wheat import, Nigeria also buys a large quantity of potassium from Russia, which is a by-product for production of fertilisers.

The country’s fish and wheat imports from Russia plunged by 83 per cent year-on-year in the first

Kyari, as a Deputy National Chairman, North, to assume the office of the acting National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

"And subsequently, also, the Deputy National Secretary, Festus Fuantar, will now assume the office of the acting National Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

"And with this recent developments in the change of leadership, I will like to inform everybody here that the proposed National Caucus meeting slated for Tuesday, the 18th of July 2023, and the National Executive Committee meetings of the All Progressives Congress (APC) slated for Wednesday, 19th of July 2023 are hereby been postponed. And this postponement will not be indefinite but a new date will be communicated in the near future."

that it does not affect motorists or individuals in terms of damages to equipment. We have done that and we have upgrade our Health Safety and Environment (HSE) directorate so that we can have good laboratories where we do all this things in collaboration with other stakeholders in surveillance and in the use of their labs for quality. So, our focus is to make the product available to the people", he added.

quarter of 2022 amid the ongoing war in Ukraine, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) shows. In a reaction on her verified Twitter handle, the Director General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, lamented the development, but expressed the hope that the deal could be renewed soon.

"(I am) Deeply disappointed at the termination of the Black Sea Grain Initiative & the interruption of the grain trade from Ukraine. I share UN SG @antonioguterres’ regret and concern. "Black Sea trade in food, feed and fertiliser is critical to the stability of global food prices. Sad to say that poor people and poor countries are hardest hit. Let’s keep hope alive on renewal," she stated.

In a statement, Chidoka, a PDP chieftain, said APC currently had its six top positions zoned as follows: President, South-west; Vice President, North-east; Senate President, South-south; Speaker, House of Representatives, North-west; and Secretary to the Government of the Federation, North-central.

He also said as discussions commenced on ministerial nominees, board appointments, and policy directions of the government, the six offices would make important inputs to the process and progress of the government.

Chidoka stated, "As a Nigerian, patriot, student of our national history, and proponent of intentional national rebirth, I recommend that the APC zones the national chairmanship to the South-east, to ensure inclusive representation.

“Then, why is Asari Dokubo whose viral video trended whereby he brandished military assault rifles and threatening to bring fire and brimstone on Nigeria not arrested and charged for illegal possession of firearms?

“Why are all the Fulani bandits brandishing military grade weapons in videos not arrested and prosecuted?

“This Emefiele’s matter has been reduced to child's play by the DSS and this is a crying shame that scores of gunmen are killing, maiming and destroying people in the South East in the guise of enforcing sit at home orders of Simon Ekpa but the DSS can quickly arrest Emefiele detain him for many weeks and charge him for possession of firearms whereas the real mass killers in the South East are allowed to operate freely.”

Asked if the duo resigned based on the allegations of corruption against them, Kyari maintained that the reasons for their resignation would be made known in future.

He said, "At this point, the individuals have resigned voluntarily and that is what is available at this moment. Reasons for resignations will be made (available) to you in the near future."

Kyari assured that the NWC under his leadership would be guided by the APC constitution.

Chidoka: Time to Prioritise National Unity

Following yesterday’s resignation of Adamu and Omisore, former aviation minister, Osita Chidoka, called on APC to pay attention to national unity in the choice of the ruling party’s new national executives, suggesting the selection of someone from the South-east as the new national chairman.

"Some will say the South-east did not vote for the party and President Tinubu, my answer will be that the South-west did not vote for NPN, when Chief Akinloye was the powerful Chairman of NPN.

"Also, the South-west did not vote for PDP, when President Obasanjo was nominated and elected President of Nigeria. Our national unity can only be built on deliberate inclusive policies.

"The resignation of the APC Chairman presents an opportunity for the party to reaffirm its national credentials and depart from its inglorious past of naked nepotism and gross insensitivity to our national consensus by zoning the position of national chairman to the South-east.

"Mr. President, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the time to rise above petty politics and renew the idea of Nigeria is now. A South-east National Chairman for the APC would be a step in the right direction."

NPA GENERATES N191.4BN REVENUE IN FIRST HALF OF 2023 already throwing up new vistas of growth further lends credence to the feasibility of our projections and gives fillip to our organisational initiatives.”

Koko added that, "the operationalisation of Lekki Deep Seaport, expected restoration of the service boat management contract, digitalisation and intensified tightening of collections mechanisms buoys our confidence at meeting and indeed exceeding the revenue projections."

The Authority has completed operations on a total number of one thousand eight hundred and fifty-one (1851) vessels for the first half of 2023 with a combined Gross Registered Tonnage (GRT) of fifty-

seven million, eight hundred and seventy thousand and eighty-three (57,870,083). Cargo throughput for the period under review stood at 33,895,784 metric tonnes, whilst container traffic was 707,985 TEUs (Twenty-foot Equivalent Units).

A key indicator of port efficiency which is the average turn-aroundtime (TAT) of vessels, stood at 5.16days. “This is an improvement and we have put measures in place to surpass in the second half of 2023” says Mohammed Bello Koko. Speaking further, Bello Koko said "we are poised to transform our projections to actualities. The remaining half of the year 2023 will be focused on finalising financing arrangements for our

port rehabilitation drive, conclusion of all digitalisations geared towards improvement of efficiency and collaboration with landlocked neighbouring countries like Niger and Chad with whom we have already opened discussions to patronise our ports as hubs for transshipment cargo."

The NPA boss concluded the report by remarking that, “as a management team, we remain unwavering in our resolve to continuously improving on service excellence, blocking avenues of income leakages, curbing waste and tightening collection mechanisms in a bid to surpass stakeholders’ expectations and support the national economy.”

MONITORING COMPLIANCE...

Governor of Enugu State, Dr. Peter Mbah (centre) patronises market women during the monitoring of compliance with the ban on sit-at-home in Enugu .... yesterday

SSANU Tells FG to Release N50bn Arrears of Earned Allowances Without Delay

Onyebuchi

University workers under the aegis of the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) have asked the federal government to release the N50 billion meant for the payment of outstanding Earned Allowances of university workers without further delay.

In a communiqué issued at the end of its National Executive Council meeting, which was signed by the President, SSANU, Mohammed H. Ibrahim, the association said that federal government should stop delaying the release the sum which was part of the collective bargaining agreements signed between it and the Joint Action

Committee of SSANU and NASU.

The communiqué stated: “Arising from the collective bargaining Agreements signed between the JAC of SSANU and NASU and the federal government, government had promised to release the sum of N50 billion for payment of outstanding Earned Allowances to Universities and Inter-University

Centres.

"This agreement is yet to be fulfilled. NEC-in-session urges government to release funds for payment of the allowances without further delay as this was provided for in the 2023 budget."

SSANU regretted that despite efforts to ensure that some of her members who were yet to be paid

Design Programmes to Sharpen New Lawmakers’

Legislative Skills, Akpabio, Abass Task NILDS

Sunday Aborisade in Abuja

The presiding officers of the National Assembly, yesterday, tasked the management of the National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Institute (NILDS) to design programmes that would sharpen the legislative skills of newly elected federal lawmakers.

No fewer than 70 per cent of the federal lawmakers in the 9th National Assembly lost their reelection bids making the federal parliament now populated with newbies

Owing to this, Senate President, Godswill Akpabio and Speaker, House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abass, urged the NILDS to bridge the gaps between the older lawmakers and the newly, inexperienced ones.

They spoke at the Matriculation ceremony of the University of Benin/NILDS Post Graduate Degree programmes held in Abuja.

In his speech, Abass, who was represented by his deputy, Benjamin Kalu, reminded the NILDS of the huge task at its hands given the composition of the 10th Assembly which has just about 30 per cent old membership. Abass said, "We can never overemphasise the imperatives of research, training and education in fostering a strong, virile and vibrant democracy.

"It is in this regard that I must commend and appreciate the efforts of NILDS at equipping lawmakers, policymakers, and the general public with the necessary skills and knowledge to navigate the complexities of our legislative and democratic processes.

"The Institute must quickly come up with programmes to fill the capacity gaps not only among our

new colleagues and some of their legislative aides but the entire staff of the National Assembly.

"It is hoped that your quick intervention in this regard with targeted programmes will enhance efficiency and productivity of Members and staff of the National Assembly.

"The leadership of NILDS must prioritise the purpose of the establishment of the institute which is primarily to provide targeted research input to legislative practice and procedure and bridge capacity gaps for members and staff of the National Assembly."

On his part, Akpabio, stressed the need to deepen legislative knowledge and provide training for legislators, staff, and other members of the public with interest in legislative governance.

He advised students to take advantage of the programme to develop their skills in the legislature to enable them enhance their capacity in the different layers of legislative and democratic governance.

Akpabio, said he was very much aware of the current state of education in the country and assured that the 10th National Assembly under his leadership would pass legislations, whose implementation would raise the standard of education.

"This administration is committed in addressing the nagging issues that bother on education instability and restiveness in our tertiary institutions.

"I wish to equally assure Nigerians that the 10th Assembly shall have as her fulcrum part of its legislative agenda boost for educational development, as we believe that our growth and development as a nation is

proportional to the quality of our educational system," Akpabio, who was represented by his deputy, Jibrin Barau said.

The Director General, NILDS, Prof. Abubakar Sulaiman, urged the students to exhibit high sense of discipline while running the programme.

"The Post Graduate Programme will not award it’s degree to students who are found wanting in

character and in learning," he said.

About 107 students were enrolled into the NILDS-UNIBEN Post Graduate Programmes including Masters in Legislative Studies (MLS), Masters in Elections and Party Politics (MEPP), Masters in Law Legislative Drafting (LLM), Masters in Parliamentary Administration (MPD), and the Post Graduate Diploma in Elections and Party Management (PGD).

arrears of the national minimum wage which was approved in 2018, were paid, government was yet to do the needful.

"NEC therefore calls on government to as a matter of urgency, commence payment to the following under-listed universities: Federal University Otuoke; Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike; Federal University, Dutsima4. Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Bauchi. Federal University, Gashua, Yobe6. Federal University Kashere; University of Maiduguri; Modibo Adamawa University, Yola; University of Benin, Benin; College of Medicine, of the University of Lagos, Idi-Araba and University of Calabar.”

While condemning what it described as arbitrary and blanket dissolution of Governing Councils of federal universities by the federal government, SSANU said the action was illegal, inimical to the growth and proper functioning and management of universities in Nigeria.

It stated that the appointment of

Governing Councils was tenured in line with the extant laws as gazetted.

"For the avoidance of doubt, the law also provides that Governing Councils can only be dissolved on proven cases of corruption and incompetence," SSANU added.

Commenting on the state of affairs in the country, SSANU stated that it viewed the monumental socio-economic upheavals in the Nigeria as symptomatic of a failing state.

It stated further that the country was, "economically prostate because of bad government policies, high rate of unemployment fueling dangerous insecurity challenges of kidnapping, banditry, youthful fraudulent activities, inflation, bad roads, failed medical facilities and all attendant manifestations of a dying nation."

As a solution, SSANU urged government to redirect the ship of the nation by introducing sound economic measures, gag the corruption monster and provide jobs for the teeming youths to avert the total collapse of the country.

Isopi: EU Election Observation Report Has Nothing to Do with Our Relations with Nigeria

EU awards postgraduate scholarships to 135 young Nigerians

Michael Olugbode in Abuja

The Head of the European Union Election Observation Delegation to Nigeria, Amb. Samuela Isopi, has said recent report of its independent election observation mission has no connection with the EU-Nigeria relations. He insisted that there were already talks on improving the existing strong relations.

Isopi, disclosed this yesterday, while briefing on the 2023 Erasmus Scholarship Award programme to 135 Nigerians to study in various European countries. She said the report of the EU Election observer mission was an independent one which the host country was at liberty to accept or reject.

She said presently EU leaders and Nigeria leaders are in talks on how to improve the already

existing relationship. She said: “European Union Observation Mission in Nigeria or anywhere else in the world, they provide an intensive, independent and impartial assessment of the electoral process.

“What does that mean? It means that they assess whether the electoral process was conducted in line with international, regional and also national obligation agreement of the conduct of the democratic election that the country has subscribed to.

"Election observation missions from the EU and any other International missions are not political and do not pursue any political objectives.

"The European Union as you know has a very strong and established worldwide methodology and experience and again it is a worldwide recognised actor in that field.

"It is not the first time that the

Nigeria election body has invited the European Union to deploy an independent election observer mission. The EU has constantly been deploying election observation missions since 1999. I think this was the seventh one and every time the mission had offered reports, the reports have been objective, and the purpose of those missions is to offer reports about what happened.

“And more importantly, to offer recommendations on how to improve the process, and then it's up. It is the responsibility of the host country, the responsibility of the partner countries and elections management body to decide if they want to make use or not of the report.”

She added: “Our experience with Nigeria so far is that they have been very positive and the report of the International observation missions including the European Union have helped a lot and have helped guide

the action and the report process.

“On the impact on our relationship, we don't think that there will be an impact, we have very strong relations with the country and there have been phone calls between the leaders.”

She noted that the EU "is also a partner to INEC providing technical and financial support and as far as we are concerned we want to continue to engage with the largest democracy in Africa and that is Nigeria and we will continue to cooperate with Nigeria."

Meanwhile, the EU has offered postgraduate scholarships to 135 young Nigerians in top European universities, under its flagship educational programme, Erasmus+.

At a press briefing in Abuja, Isopi, said the figure places Nigeria on the number one spot among beneficiaries of the EU postgraduate scholarships in Africa in the past five years, and among the top five globally.

Ezigbo in Abuja

NESG’S NATIONAL ASSEMBLY BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT ROUNDTABLE...

L-R: Chief Operations Officer, Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG), Dr. Tayo Aduloju; Speaker, House of Representatives, Hon. Tajudeen Abbas; House Majority Leader, Hon. Julius Ihonvbere; and Member, House of Representatives, Hon. Abubakar Kabir Abubakar,,during a courtesy visit of the NESG’s National Assembly Business Environment Roundtable (NASSBER) to Honorable Abbas in Abuja…on Thursday

Bayelsa Guber: Court Fixes September 14 for Hearing on Eligibility of Sylva's Running Mate

Olusegun Samuel in Yenagoa

A Federal High Court sitting in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State presided over by Hon. Justice Olaide Quadiri, has fixed September 13th for commence-

ment of hearing on the eligibility of the Bayelsa State All Progressives Congress (APC) deputy governorship candidate and Chief Timipre Sylva running mate, Mr. Joshua Maciver. A female governorship aspirant

of the APC, Ikisima Johnson, who also participated and lost the party's governorship primaries to the eventual winner, Chief Timipre Sylva, is challenging the eligibility of Maciver and seeking his disqualification as the

Edo, German, Swiss Govts Train 356 Entrepreneurs

The Edo State Skills Development Agency (EdoJobs) said it has completed training for over 356 entrepreneurs in the State with the Inspire Create Start and Scale (ICSS) Curriculum.

Addressing journalists in Benin City, the Managing Director of EdoJobs, Mrs. Violet Obiokoro, said the new curriculum was designed to provide business owners in the State with a comprehensive framework that equips them with the necessary skills and knowledge to thrive.

She added that the programme consists of four well-designed modules that cover essential business strategies, employability skills, effective business management techniques, business plan drafting, and practical tools for success.

According to her, “With the adoption of the ICSS Curriculum, EdoJobs has made a significant impact as the new initiative has successfully empowered all its vocational skills beneficiaries and business owners in developing effective structures and implementing growth plans for their businesses.”

She said the programme was funded by the German and Swiss Governments (Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation SDC), adding that EdoJobs is implementing the new curriculum in collaboration with Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) Programmes including, the Skills Development for Youth Employment – SKYE, Pro-Poor Growth and Promotion of Employment in Nigeria - SEDIN and GOPA Worldwide.

The managing director noted that the trainings were initially tested in rural regions for some short-term skill training and launched into the EdoJobs vocational training scheme in February 2023 across Edo Central, Edo South, and Edo North Senatorial Districts through which the agency has successfully equipped 356 residents of Edo State with from-the-scratch knowledge on how to set up a business and develop concrete business ideas.

Obiokoro noted, “Beyond equip-

ping individuals with vocational skills, which our management is committed to, we are also able to integrate the GOPA ICSS Entrepreneurship Curriculum into our programmes, equipping beneficiaries with the necessary knowledge to thrive in business.

“This is very commendable. So, each training that we conduct, the ICSS Entrepreneurship Curriculum is integrated into it.”

party's running mate on the alleged ground that he was an ex-convict.

In suit number FHC/YNG/ CS114/2023/, the APC was listed as the first defendant, while the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Chief Timipre Sylva, and Joshua MacIver as second, third and fourth defendants respectively.

At the preliminary hearing yesterday, Counsel to Johnson, Leizou Elijah, filed an application for conversion of the case from originating summons to pleadings and asked the court for a date to hear the motion.

Justice Olaide Quadiri who adjourned the case to September 13th for hearing and ruling on the plaintiff's motion for conversion of originating summons to pleadings, urged all parties to exchange pleadings and processes to ensure that all parties file their processes before the next hearing date.

In a chat with newsmen, counsel to Chief Sylva and Maciver, Benjamin

Ogbara, who held brief for the lead counsel Dr. James Onoja said: "This is a case that was filed by one Isikima Johnson who was incidentally a governorship aspirants of the APC in Bayelsa State, and according to the originating processes that was serve on us, they are trying to challenge the eligibility of Joshua Maciver that was nominated as a running mate to Chief Timipre Sylva, which had been forwarded to INEC on April 25th.

"They are challenging the eligibility of the running mate, of course you know as far as I am concerned the process is in court but I know the court cannot entertain this matter basically because the matter is statue barred.

"In today's proceedings, we have filed our counter affidavit and a notice of preliminary objection and also a counter affidavit and we have serve on them but today we came to court and we are told that we have not been served that

they have filed another process to convert the originating process which they filed since on the 25th of May to pleading (wright of summons) and of course they know this is a pre-election matter.

You cannot come back and file, the time has elapse even “When they filed this matter, they filed above the 14 days on the occurrence of the event which was the day the party forwarded the names to INEC, so they know this matter is statue barred and as far as I am concerned it is a waste of the precious time of the court.

"The judge said all parties should exchange pleadings and the matter was adjourned to 13th of September 2023 by which time all pleadings and processes have been filed and on that day the court will take all applications and he will subsequently adjourn for judgement."

Counsel to the petitioner, Leizou Elijah, declined comment when journalists approach him.

Ndoma Egba: Our Education Should Be Tailored Towards Job Creation

Oghenevwede Ohwovoriole in Abuja

The Chairman, Advisory Board of Start Rite Schools (SRS), Senator Victor Ndoma Egba, has advised

Abia Saves N220m Monthly from 2,300 Ghost Workers, Pensioners Delisted from Payroll

Emmanuel Ugwu-Nwogo in Umuahia

No fewer than 2,300 ghost workers and pensioners have so far been identified in the payroll of Abia State government in the ongoing verification of workers and pensioners.

The discovery was made known yesterday, by the State Accountant General, Mrs. Njum Onyemenam while speaking with journalists after a meeting with the state governor, Mr. Alex Otti.

Otti had ordered the auditing of the state work force and retirees as a condition to clear the mountain of unpaid salaries and pensions

left behind by his predecessor, Dr Okezie Ikpeazu.

According to her, with the identification and delisting of the ghost names on the payroll, the state government would save over N220 million monthly using the unified payment system

"So far, we have been able to save N220 million from the ongoing verification of workers in the state, local governments and pensioners.

"Not less than 2,300 ghost names have been weeded out of the payrolls, using the unified payment system and we hope to still identify more as we continue with the exercise," the AG said.

Onyemenam said Otti's directive

last week for the payment of April salary arrears had been carried out while retirees were paid their pensions for June.

She explained that local government workers did not receive June salaries like other workers because their verified payment schedule was not submitted by the officials in charge.

However, she assured the LG workers that their skipped June salaries would be paid within the week.

The Accountant General stated that government would still make more savings as the staff verification exercise has not been completed.

Nigerian schools to embrace entrepreneurial system of education in order to produce job creators rather than job-seekers.

He stated this at the weekend in an interview on the sidelines of the graduation/15th anniversary of Start Rite Schools, in Abuja.

The former senator stated that the era of training students to become job seekers was no longer fashionable, stressing that we are presently in the era of schools training entrepreneurs who would create jobs rather than seek jobs.

He said: "Education for jobs is going out of fashion; we are now in an era where we have education for creating jobs. Our education today must be geared towards creating jobs not seeking jobs.

"And that is why we are working with the Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF) to see if we can introduce entrepreneurship, and by the time we have trained our students in entrepreneurship, they will go into the world not seeking jobs, but creating jobs for others."

Ndoma-Egba also noted that with the right investment in the public schools, they would be

able to compete favourably with private schools in terms of academic excellence.

"I went to public schools (Catholic mission schools), and they were one of the best. We had possibilities in public schools in the past and we can reenact it and we can still bring the standard we experienced in the 60s, 70s and the part of the 80s.

"You will recall that federal government colleges that are public schools are among the best in the country. They produced the best who competed with their peers across the globe.

"With proper investment in education, I believe that every child deserves education irrespective of their social status. So we must ensure that we give enough funding to education, because the wealth of a nation is not in her natural resources but human resources," he said.

In his address, the keynote speaker, Prof. Oka Obono, advised the graduating students to change the current narrative in the country where contracts are abandoned all over the place, and to also change the attitude of thinking about the immediate benefits only, without

thinking of the future benefit.

"There are too many abandoned projects in Nigeria and your generation must put an end to it. And you must learn to plant fruits that are not of immediate benefit to you; fruits that will take 50 years or more to produce for others to benefit.

"You do the right things intentionally, tenaciously and efficiently too. Just like creation, you have to restore and replenish the society," he admonished.

The Principal, Start Rite Schools, Femi Akinlade, said at SRS, officials are after the greater good of their students and are more concerned about their impact on the society, adding that, "at the SRS, we give the best in terms of academics and morals but our greatest concern is their impact on society."

A parent, Mrs. Juli Abaribe, said the school was of great academic excellence and moral standard. She said: "You can't compare what you are paying on your child to the value you are getting here. They train your child academically and morally, and as a parent, I am very proud to say my child is a product of this great school."

Women are the engine room of creativity, innovation, sustainability and progress, argues DORIS

INCLUSIVITY: A CASE FOR WOMEN

“We need women at all levels, including the top, to change the dynamic, reshape the conversation, to make sure women’s voices are heard and heeded, not overlooked and ignored.”

This well-known and unimpeachable quotation above are the thoughts of Sheryl Sandberg, the famous American technology executive, writer and philanthropist. Sandberg is also on Forbes billionaires’ list, and she is a very good example of an empowered woman who knows what she wants, where she is headed and what she deserves. One of the greatest things about this extraordinary woman is that her environment or what society expects from an archetype of every conscious woman who

side based on everyone’s common experiences and realities.

The question then is: how, when and at what point do we draw the line? Political, gender is not only harmful to society but also unacceptable in this age and time. I believe that humanity can actually do better in a world that has been reduced to a single community due to technological advancement and progress in learning and knowledge. For me, and I think I am speaking the mind of many women, the starting point as things now stand, is appreciation, support and understanding, that is the only way to create that gender harmony and sereneness that the world urgently needs.

On 13 January 1970, Olusegun Obasanjo, army colonel and General Officer Commanding (GOC) the Third Marine Commando Division of the Nigerian Army, arrived Amichi in the old Nnewi Division of what was then known as East Central State to accept the capitulation of Biafra from Phillip Effiong, interim leader of the enclave. The encounter occurred in the house of Chief Ben Atuchukwu, one of a pioneer generation of trading magnets whose exploits bestowed on Nnewi its reputation as the home of Nigerian enterprise.

executive of the PSC. Some 39 months later, General Muhammadu Buhari abrogated that Constitution.

wants to leave a mark in her profession and life. I strongly believe that Sandberg’s remarkable life journey presents valuable lessons for every woman, irrespective of age or social status.

I have followed Sandberg’s career trajectory since 2012 when she was elected to Facebook’s board of directors and I think every woman must read the story of her trials and triumphs. As a matter of fact, she is one of the inspiring women who is changing the world for the better with her engaging writing style and philanthropy. She is also making considerable impact in the global technology sector with her ingenuity and courage. Today, her ideas and achievements are resonating with many people, and it is now absolutely clear that the world needs more women like Sandberg in leadership positions as never before. That is also why the call for greater gender equality and equity is becoming louder and deafening everywhere.

But how can a patriarchal world, accused repeatedly of consciously or unconsciously excluding women from top leadership positions in public life, close a widening gender gap at this period in history? Is it possible to create a world without discrimination and gender bias?

The truth is that women are very critical to nation building. For humanity to grow and blossom, women must be respected, included, loved and cared for. Any country or system that wants to achieve long-term and sustainable development goals must look in the direction of women because they are the engine room of creativity, innovation, sustainability and progress. For me, the scariest part is that when a system deliberately excludes women from the scheme of things, that system also inadvertently discounts the unique and innate talents women deploy in raising children and providing stability in homes. As a matter of fact, it is a disservice to humanity when women are denied equal chances of participating in politics and public life. This exclusion is also counterproductive to global advancement given that females are generally believed to be more proactive, ingenious, productive and Without a doubt, women, with their distinctive nature and orientation, contribute immensely to the growth and development of every society anywhere and everywhere. However, aside their traditional roles as mothers and caretakers who provide support in many innumerable ways, women are also educators, caregivers, farmers, managers, entrepreneurs and above all, the glue of our society. So, a country that ignores them, does so at her peril. Women are so important to the extent that humanity and history are all on their

I must say that over the years, we have had women of impact, especially in public service in Nigeria. Names that readily come to mind are uncontestable and far too many to be exhausted in one single opinion piece. But we remember Patricia Olubunmi Etteh who functioned as the 10th Speaker of Nigeria’s House of Representatives; Amina Jane Mohammed, the British Nigerian diplomat who currently serves as Deputy Secretary-General at the United Nations; Aloma Mariam Mukhtar, the professor of Theatre Arts and Dr. Ameyo Stella Adadevoh, an extraordinary woman who died so that we can live. Adadevoh’s courageous broader spread of the Ebola virus in Nigeria. female Minister of Industry; Ngozi OkonjoIweala, the International Development Expert and Director-General of the World Trade Organization, WTO; Dora Akunyili, the patriot who fought tirelessly to reduce counterfeit drugs in Nigeria; Osonye Tess Onwueme, scholar, playwright, poet and gender advocate and Oby Ezekwesili, an International Policy Expert and former Minister of Education. The list is endless, in spite of the challenges women face every day in pursuit of their dreams.

Who still remembers the Aba Women Riots of 1929? This rebellion by women against economic and social oppressions under the colonial administration, I must say, changed Nigeria’s history forever. That struggle, in its entirety, was championed by women. So, the women are here; and it is already too late in the day to escape this reality. Happily, our menfolk are in recognition of this fact and many of them are doing everything possible in driving this agenda for recognition and equality. Though the journey is still long and winding but all men and women of goodwill must join hands. I must stress that no one should lose hope because success is on the horizon. Who would have thought some years ago that women would attain all these enviable heights today! That is all the more reason for everyone to continue to remain faithful and optimistic about a great future, even when our reality seems bleak.

Let us not forget in a hurry that the Beijing Conference of 1995 where many countries made commitment towards improving and recognizing the status of women wherever they are found, shone a searchlight on improving the participation of women at all levels of decisionmaking. Today, 28 years after that conference in China, the journey is far from over. But have women made progress? Yes! Are they on course? Yes! Is there hope? Your guess is as good as mine. However, as they say, the room for improvement is the biggest room, that is why men and women must unite and work together for a world of inclusivity that cares for everyone irrespective of gender or social status.

So, as we work and hope for an inclusive society, we must thank men who proudly stand up every day in the workplace and corridors of power for inclusion and gender equality. Without them, the advocacy so far, and even the modest success recorded, would have remained a mirage. So, we thank our menfolk as we look forward to further collaboration. And for women, there could not have been a better time to rise and break all the obstacles holding them back from attaining their goals. Yes, the journey has begun, and that is the good news.

Dr. Ochei, a Business Development Coach and Gender Advocate, writes from Lagos

Present in the room was Simon Nsobundu Okeke, a pioneer estate surveyor and valuer with his origins from Amichi, who was a senior official in the Biafra’s security services. Ben Atuchukwu, the man in whose house the war ended, was his paternal uncle. In the nature of the occasion, Okeke and Obasanjo were not introduced to one another on the day.

After the war, Obasanjo continued in the military,

The return of military rule had a profound impact on the PSC and on the idea of police oversight. For the duration of the Buhari regime, Tunde Idiagbon, the Brigadier-General who was secondin-command, served as the nominal chair of the PSC. Ibrahim Babangida, who overthrew Buhari in August promulgated the Police (Miscellaneous Provisions) Decree, No. 5 of 6 February, 1989, which abrogated the PSC, making this retrospective to the beginning of his regime on August 27, 1985. In its place, he established a Police Council, whose membership comprised the military president, all state governors, and the Inspector-General of Police. At the time, the military president appointed all state governors. As such, the Police Council comprised the president and his appointees, all of whom came from regimental traditions.

In the 41 years since its creation in 1960 until 2001, therefore, the PSC was not in existence for 14 years; notionally existed under military rule for another 13½ years; and only functioned under civil rule for nine and a half (9½) years. For four of those nine and a half years, the president also chaired the Commission. This chequered history did not equip the Commission with any institutional memory. At inauguration in 2001, it had no office or staff. The 1999 Constitution had also re-designed the Commission in one fundamental way: unlike the period until 1985, it placed the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) outside the powers and purview of the PSC.

becoming in succession a cabinet minister, secondin-command to the head of state, military head of state, civilian president, and international statesman. For his part, Okeke returned to his vocation of estate management, rising to become an acknowledged leader among estate surveyors and valuers in the country.

Nearly 32 years after they first met, the destinies of both men would be joined in the most unpredictable fashion. Obasanjo was sworn in on 29 May 1999 for his second tour of duty as Nigeria’s leader. Two and a half years later, on 28 November 2001, he presided as Chief Okeke took the oath of office as Chairman of the Police Service Commission (PSC), along with six other commissioners. In assuming this office, Chief Okeke became the first Chair of the Commission in 22 years, dating back to October 1979.

Published by MayFive Media Limited, Policing the Nigeria Police is Chief Okeke’s timely and thoughtful retrospective on policing and the Nigeria Police Force (NPF). It is part memoir and part policy memo in a book that combines racy narrative with deliberative analysis, juxtaposing recall of the worst of bureaucratic and political skullduggery with high-minded invocations of the public interest.

The book unfolds in 15 chapters that address different aspects of the institutional evolution, bureaucratic machinations, relational episodes, and, reform proposals in policing and police oversight viewed from the vintage of Chief Okeke’s tenure and experience with the PSC. Some of the major themes addressed include the histories of the NPF and PSC and of presidential and political instrumentalization of both; abuses of the roles and powers of the IGP and of the president; the role of the PSC in election monitoring; the role of the president in a transitional democracy; the travails of civilian oversight of the security services; and issues of police reform, including state police and community policing.

By way of context, the Metropolitan Police in England was a mere 32 years old when the British began the experiment that evolved into the NPF. Until the departure of the British in 1960, the NPF was under the political authority of the head of the colonial government, for the most part known as the Governor, who directed the Force at his whim.

As they retreated in 1960, the British bequeathed to the country a PSC as a civilian oversight body over the NPF. This was problematic because for a century until then, the NPF had known no such oversight nor imbibed any bureaucratic traditions that would prepare it for such. Yet they gave this oversight body extensive powers of appointment, promotion, and discipline over the NPF.

For 19 years, until 1979, the PSC persevered with some difficulty, coexisting uneasily with the regimental mentality of military rule for about 13½ years of those.

Upon the transition to the presidential system of government, from 1 October, 1979, the constitution made the President ex-officio chairman and chief

Under the Constitution, the president appoints the IGP, controls and instructs him and can also fire him at will. The IGP commands the NPF. The Police Council, whose membership comprises the president, state governors and the Chairman of the PSC, coexists with the Commission. Its role is confined to the declared purpose of advising the president in the appointment of the IGP. Chief Okeke recalls no such process as having taken place in his five years on the Council, which he describes as “next to moribund.”

The result was two-fold. First, in 2001, both the presidency and the IGP were unused to the idea of independent civilian oversight. Second when he assumed office in 2001 as the Chair of the PSC, Chief Okeke was in a unique pickle: he had no predecessor from whose experience he could draw but he was up against an institution and officers with fond memories of the days when the NPF brooked no oversight and was the plaything of the president.

Over five years in the role of PSC Chairman, Chief Okeke worked with one president and three IGPs: the first was fired, the second was convicted for fraud and embezzlement, and the third, as Chief Okeke writes, “practically shoved aside the Police Service Commission and took directives only from the President.” With few allies, the job the PSC Chairman verged on impossible. It was just not for the faint of heart.

At the end of his tenure in 2006, Chief Okeke chose wisely not to seek reappointment. Unknown to him, the Inspector-General of Police, Sunday Ehindero, had advocated with and advised the president that it was better to have the PSC headed by a retired police officer. In February, 2023, President Obasanjo, who implemented this advice, admitted it was mistaken, saying: “when you make a retired police officer the head of the PSC, it is like asking a thief to catch a thief.’’

But this mistake birthed a Nigerian tradition: since 2006, the PSC has been retirement home to a succession of former IGPs. Far from making the relationship better, this deepened antipathy between the PSC and the NPF, introducing the added complication of inter-personal psychodrama between incumbent IGPs on the one hand, and former IGPs who were their superiors on the other. The case between the IGP and the PSC over the question of primacy in the matter of recruitment of police personnel is pending at the Supreme Court. This then is the narrative of interlocked and overlapping destinies and mutating machinations that makes Policing the Nigeria Police such a compelling read. The book offers thoughtful insights policing for the country and argues a persuasive case for decentralization of the NPF, dispassionately examining proposals for state police, community policing, and even vigilantes. Anyone interested in making policing both effective and accountable in Nigeria has a duty to read it.

A lawyer and a teacher, Odinkalu can be reached at chidi.odinkalu@tufts.edu

OCHEI

POLICING THE NIGERIA POLICE

Policing the police is a compelling read, reckons Chidi ANSELM ODINKALU

Editor, Editorial Page PETER ISHAKA

Email peter.ishaka@thisdaylive.com

EDITORIAL

PROTECTING FAMILIES OF DECEASED BANK CUSTOMERS

There is urgent need for a legislation to ensure easy access to accounts of the deceased by their families

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) recently released draft guidelines on the management of dormant accounts,

institutions in Nigeria. It proposed that banks should transfer funds in accounts that have been dormant for up to 10 years into a trust fund account. The aim is for the apex bank to mop up about N500 billion in unclaimed balances considered dormant in over 59.7 million bank accounts across the country. According to the proposal, banks would have to transfer funds in accounts that have been dormant for up to 10 years into a trust fund account.

dormant bank account is one that has no customer or depositor-initiated transaction for a period of six months. Since dead people cannot operate their accounts, it stands to reason that such accounts would be dormant. And because of that, relatives of many dead bank depositors or account holders go through harrowing experiences trying to access the money left in the accounts held by their deceased ones. Therefore, whatever may be the motivation of the CBN’s move to mop up dormant funds in banks, it is necessary to point out that there are no laws restricting the banks from providing Pay on Death (POD) service to a willing client.

Over the years, Nigerian banks have been renowned for mounting several roadblocks to frustrate survivors of deceased account holders. To access such funds in bank accounts, probate or letter of administration are required. Probate will be required where a deceased died testate (leaving a will), while letter of administration is required where the deceased person died intestate (without a will). Whichever way, survivors of dead poor people.

T H I S D AY EDITOR SHAKA MOMODU DEPUTY EDITORS WALE OLALEYE, OBINNA CHIMA MANAGING DIRECTOR ENIOLA BELLO DEPUTY MANAGING DIRECTOR ISRAEL IWEGBU CHAIRMAN EDITORIAL BOARD OLUSEGUN ADENIYI EDITOR NATION’S CAPITAL IYOBOSA UWUGIAREN THE OMBUDSMAN KAYODE KOMOLAFE

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Letters to the Editor

With stringent conditions that banks demand of has continued to record more dormant accounts. For inexplicable reasons, many families have complained of when they obtain one, banks often list other conditions made to forgo funds in the bank accounts held by their loved ones, the amount of unclaimed funds in commercial banks is estimated to be about N1.3 trillion.

We believe that the increasing advocacy for a legislation to mandate banks to provide Pay on Death (PoD) form to every account holder is not only timely but necessary and urgent. With such legislation, it is expected that banks will be required to contact account holders in their PoD before or when such accounts go dormant and transfer the funds to them. This will mitigate

deceased account holders face in procuring letters of administration.

There are lessons we can learn from other countries. For instance, Indian Prime Minister, Modi had in the Finance Bill 2023 proposed an amendment to the Government Savings Promotion Act, which sets to streamline who will get the funds if a depositor dies without nomination. The proposed amendment prescribed that the payment of the available balance in the account will be made to the person legally entitled to receive it if the account holder dies without declaring

Given what many families go through in the hands of callous bank executives, there is an urgent need to enact a legislation to ensure easy access to the bank accounts of their deceased ones. That should also be a matter of concern for the CBN.

Letters in response to specific publications in THISDAY should be brief (150-300 words) and straight to the point. Interested readers may send such letters along with their contact details to opinion@thisdaylive.com. We also welcome comments and opinions on topical local, national and international issues provided they are well-written and should also not be longer than (750- 1000 words). They should be sent to opinion@thisdaylive. com along with photograph, email address and phone numbers of the writer.

LETTERS

MANDELA: AN ICON WORTHY OF IMMORTALITY

On July 11, Nelson Mandela, the late South African anti-apartheid hero was remembered by the United Nations on the occasion of the Nelson Mandela Day. He remains a matchless reference point.

There are men who walk the surface of the earth and never leave until they leave their footprints on its sands. These men lead simple, ordinary lives but somehow manage to touch many other lives in profound and extraordinary ways, so much so that their memories become monuments to the transcendental tenacity of the human spirit.

Between 1884 and 1885, some European powers sat in Berlin, Germany, and with extraordinary arrogance and presumptuousness partitioned Africa among themselves.

It was to mark the onset of colonialism which was an offshoot of the heinous transatlantic Slave Trade. The conference yielded colonialists and saw a continent most of them thought as nothing but the dark continent become a continent of colonies.

The marked tragedy of colonialism was unequally pronounced across the continent. While some countries fared better under their colonial masters, a country like DR Congo was the epicenter of colonial atrocities under Belgium. It is no exaggeration to say that the turmoil in DR Congo today can be traced back to its colonial heritage under Belgium.

But perhaps, it was in South Africa, more than any other country on the continent that the true horrors of colonialism found its most vicious visage under a system that was the very embodiment of the evils of inequality.

For years, Mandela fought for a racially equal South Africa spending 27 years in prison as the Apartheid regime found the prospect of the end of its hold over South Africa unfathomable. Besides his unbreakable tenacity in the fight to liberate South Africa from the clutches of a regime that was darkness itself, Mandela’s non-violent approach to the struggle marked the legendary African freedom fighter as an exemplar for the ages.

In 1994, upon independence, Mandela became South Africa’s first Black President. He willingly left office in 1999 and died in 2013. His name continues to echo around the world.

Today, many African countries, including his native South Africa, could do with leaders like him: towering monuments to integrity and probity to pilot the affairs of their increasingly troubled and desperate countries.

Across the African continent, many countries have continued to struggle under the weight of corrupt and oppressive governments. In some of these countries, inept and corrupt military officials have seized power from their equally inept and corrupt civilian counterparts to reduce

their country’s democratic hopes to dust and preclude genuine development.

In countries like Mali, Burkina Faso, and Sudan, the military which initially professed that it came into power to sanitize things has morphed into a monstrous problem on their own, jeopardizing possible democratic transitions and frittering away the resources of their states.

To those who turn the public funds of their country into their personal funds and see governance as an opportunity for personal and family enrichment and aggrandizement, Mandela offers a withering rebuke even from the grave.

Experience has shown that governments which fail to put their citizens in front and center are not only harbingers of grinding poverty but also succeed in opening the doors of their countries to terrorists who serve only insecurity and instability.

For years, the world has crucially looked towards Africa in the firm hope that the second most populous continent, can finally begin to live up to its promise. That expectation has until now been crucially cut short.

It also appears that danger Is firmly on the horizon. Mandela was perhaps the most prominent figure of

the towering African figures who fought in different African countries to give their people a voice. Just like immortal icons like Julius Nyerere of Tanzania, Patrice Lumumba of the DRC, Nnamdi Azikiwe of Nigeria and Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe, among others, Mandela had fought for the liberation of his country.

By the time he died on 5th December 2013,he was very much a member of a dying breed.

Today, across many African countries, the sobering situation is that despots and even outright criminals now pose as democrats. They capture the resources of their states before proceeding to plunder its resources while weakening state institutions and immersing their people in instability and immiseration.

Every year, July 11 gives the world an opportunity to remember a man worth every iota of immortality. Those who occupy positions of power the world over surely have a lot to learn from him, especially African leaders, many of whom have become the greatest tragedies ever to happen to their states.

Ike Willie-Nwobu, Ikewilly9@gmail.com

The increasing advocacy for a legislation to mandate banks to provide Pay on Death form to every account holder is not only timely but necessary and urgent

Politicians Unite to Fight Erosion Menace in Anambra

Disaster knows no political party, this informs why despite rivalry among Anambra politicians, they are united in urging the Federal Government to help fight erosion menace in the state, David-Chyddy Eleke reports.

Anambra State governor, Prof Chukwuma Soludo is usually quick to state at public functions that the state is the erosion capital of Nigeria. When he has the opportunity of being with key players in the environmental system, both at the federal government level and at the level of international donor agencies, Soludo usually narrates that, while Lagos which is supposed to be the smallest state in terms of landmass in the country is recovering land from sea, Anambra, which should be the second smallest is now the smallest, owing to losing land to erosion on a daily basis.

Anyone who monitored the intensity of politicking in Anambra state during the last general elections would think that for every move made by one party, the other would counter it, just to score cheap political points. But in Anambra, it has become well known that disaster has no political party, and cannot spare anyone on basis of political affiliation. This is coming true with the recent alliance by all political parties in the call on the federal government to counter erosion menace in the state, especially the recent one, where a portion of Owerri-Onitsha expressway was cut off by erosion, subjecting motorists to the use of just one lane.

While there are over 1,000 active erosion sites in Anambra, which are daily depleting her landmass and also consuming investments, livelihood and sometimes lives, a recent menace of erosion in Oba, Idemili South Local Government Area, has caught the attention of all.

Last two weeks, after an intense rainfall, erosion suddenly cut off a portion of Owerri-Onitsha Expressway, at Oba.

One lane of the very spacious expressway was immediately condemned, while only one lane is functional. The road, which is a busy one, connecting Onitsha to Owerri has been described as a very important road. This is because, any vehicle coming into Onitsha through the Niger Bridge from South western parts of the country, and going to some parts of the South east and South south, must use the Onitsha-Owerri Road.

Owing to the importance of the road, the Senator representing Anambra Central Senatorial Zone, Senator Victor Umeh, who is a Labour Party stalwart, recently visited Oba to inspect the site. Umeh defied rumors of unrest in the South east, because of sit-at-home order, to visit and inspect the site, alongside some cabinet chiefs of Oba Community.

While inspecting the failed por -

tion, Umeh who lamented the magnitude of the disaster said: “What we are seeing here is an emergency that the federal government should intervene in. If you look far to the other side of the gully, you will see that houses are threatened in this area, so for industries too. One of the cabinet chiefs in Oba here with us has an industry over there, which provides employment to the people, but it is being threatened.

“This part of the road has been totally cut off, and you can see that the only part of the road that is now being used is also threatened. This is beyond the control of the state government. So there is need for the federal government to step in. The other lane will not survive another two weeks from what we are seeing here.

“This is a very critical road, which links people from Lagos and other South west part of the country into South east and South south. Second Niger Bridge is just over there. I came into Anambra last night, and decided to come and see this for myself today. I will take this back to the Senate, and we will let the Senate President to also know that his people also use this road. We are sure that the Senate President, His Excellency, Senator Dr Godswill Obot Akpabio will intervene after seeing this by himself,

and see how the National Assembly can intervene, at least on this section.

“If this road fails, nobody from the South south and part of the South east will be able to go to Lagos any more. This is a very critical road, and we hope that the federal government will intervene.”

Umeh during the visit narrated how the owner of Rojenny Games village, Chief Rommy Ezeonwuka, an APGA stalwart had bombarded him with videos of the level of devastation in the area. Rojenny Games Village is just a stone throw from the failed portion of the road. One may feel that Ezeonwuka, a staunch APGA stalwart would not want to reach Umeh, a Labour Party stalwart, but settle for someone from his political party, to report to, on the level of devastation.

Umeh represents Anambra Central, which is same area where Oba falls into, and having been a strong voice in the senate, both for Igbo people and his senatorial zone, may have informed the reason for Ezeonwuka’s choice of Umeh, to pressure on the devastation in his backyard.

Though Ezeonwuka was holidaying in the US as at the time Umeh visited the failed spot, the management of the games village also took the senator round the facility to reveal how erosion was gradually eating into the facility, having already pulled down a part of the fencing.

Just a day before the visit, Umeh had on the floor of the senate made a strong case on the need to declare emergency on the menace of erosion in the South east. He was supporting a motion by Senator Osita Izunaso, who made the call. Umeh

called on the federal government to see reasons to tackle the erosion problem in the zone. Making particular reference to the failed spot at Oba, Umeh said it should be treated as emergency, adding that the work was too much for the state government to handle.

Already, investments, residences and source of livelihood are being threatened in the area, and the devastation is not respecting political affiliations. This may be why stakeholders in the state are also not considering political affiliations, but lending their voices to the call to get the federal government to act. A cabinet chief of Oba community, who owns a factory in the area, lamented that his factory, which provide employment for several indigenes of Oba community was on the verge of being taken by the huge gully.

Anambra State government is also not resting on its oars, over the issue. Anambra State government, headed by Governor Chukwuma Soludo, leader of APGA, has also sent a team to the site. The team from the state government, consisted of Chief of Staff to Governor Soludo, Mr. Ernest Ezeajughi; Commissioners for Works, Engr. Ifeanyi Okoma; Environment, Mr. Felix Odimegwu, and Press Secretary to the Governor, Mr. Christian Aburime; who were at the site, begged the federal government for intervention.

Ezeajughi during the visit corroborated reports of the multiplicity of erosion sites in the state, saying there were over 1,000 active erosion sites in Anambra State alone. He lamented that there was urgent need to tackle the Onitsha-Owerri Road erosion, as movement of goods and persons will be stalled once the other part of the road caves in.

He said: “We have over 1,000 active erosion sites in Anambra State. This is just one of them. We are acting on emergency. Because this Onitsha-Owerri road by Oba erosion wash-off is a major devastation, we are not waiting for the federal government, even though it is their responsibility. The people bearing the hardship are ndi Anambra, as such, Anambra State government has embarked on intervention to arrest the situation before other measures.”

The commissioner for Works, Mr Okoma said: “We are in talk with federal ministry works and Federal Road Maintenance Agency and they are already on it. But it will be a long process. We don’t have an option, we moved a contractor that will continue with the second objective, to stop further mudslides.”

Soludo

Umeh

Anyone who monitored the intensity of politicking in Anambra state during the last general elections would think that for every move made by one party, the other would counter it, just to score cheap political points. But in Anambra, it has become well known that disaster has no political party, and cannot spare anyone on basis of political affiliation. This is coming true with the recent alliance by all political parties in the call on the federal government to counter erosion menace in the state, especially the recent one, where a portion of OwerriOnitsha expressway was cut off by erosion, subjecting motorists to the use of just one lane.

Ezeonwuka

FOREIGN DESK

China Criticises ‘Separarist’Taiwanese Vice-President’s Forthcoming US Visit

China is criticising an upcoming stopover in the United States by Taiwan vice president and presidential front-runner William Lai as a challenge to its territorial integrity, while Taiwan says it’s merely a transit stop.

China regards Taiwan as a breakaway province to be retaken by force if necessary and prohibits its diplomatic partners — including the US — from having formal ties with Taipei. While not recognising Taiwan as a country, Washington maintains robust unofficial ties and has pledged to help Taiwan defend itself in case of an invasion.

A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said at a briefing in Beijing that China had lodged formal protests with the US over Lai’s visit next month.

“China is firmly opposed to any form of official exchanges between the United States and Taiwan,” spokeswoman Mao Ning said. “We firmly reject Taiwan independence separatists visiting the US under any name and for any reason, as well as any form of the US connivance and support of the Taiwan independence separatists and their separatist activities.”

“China will closely monitor developments and take resolute and forceful measures to defend its national sovereignty and territorial integrity,” she added.

Biden Invites Israel’s Netanyahu to White House

U.S. President Joe Biden on Monday invited Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Washington for an official visit at a date to be determined, the prime minister’s office said.

The invitation was extended during a phone call between Biden and Netanyahu, a day ahead of a visit to Washington by Israeli President Isaac Herzog.

Netanyahu returned to power more than six months ago, but Biden had pointedly declined to invite until long after most Israeli prime ministers would have made the visit.

Amid escalating West Bank violence, the right-wing Israeli government’s actions authorising settler outposts and inflammatory comments from a member of Netanyahu’s cabinet with responsibilities over Jewish settlements had drawn criticism from US officials, including from Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin during a visit to Israel in March.

The statement said Netanyahu told Biden he would try to form a “broad public consensus” on legislation in Israel that would strip its highest court of much of its powers. The legislation has prompted anti-government protests in Israel for months.

The Israeli statement said that the two leaders shared a “long and warm” conversation focused on curbing threats from Iran and its proxies and strengthening the alliance between the two countries.

Bangladeshi Police Accused of Conspiring Against Opposition Candidates

Bangladesh’s opposition BNP is expected to stage new protests Tuesday and Wednesday amid its call for the current government’s resignation and installation of a caretaker administration ahead of general elections likely taking place in January.

Word of the protest comes as the BNP or Bangladesh Nationalist Party, and other activists allege Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s government has been fast-tracking pending police cases against some of the opposition leaders to prevent them from running in the elections. An anti-government protest was held last Wednesday.

The Awami League, or AL, is the ruling party.

On July 6, a deputy inspector general, or DIG, of police met with other senior police officials in Dhaka and authorised an initiative to gather data on the cases of the leaders and activists from the BNP and another opposition group, the Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh party, known as Jel.

Members of these groups have been facing charges of arson, violent attacks on police, various subversive activities and other serious crimes since 2013.

Iran Shutters Education Center Over ‘Inciting Riots’

Iranian authorities have shuttered an educational centre accused of “inciting riots” during last year’s mass demonstrations triggered by the death of a young woman while in police custody, state media reported Monday.

Nationwide protests rocked Iran following the September death of a 22-year-old Iranian Kurd, Mahsa Amini, in police custody after her arrest over violating the Islamic Republic’s strict dress code.

“We prepared and issued a warrant for the closure of Gaj centre following the directive of the minister of education,” state news agency IRNA quoted Ahmad Mahmoudzadeh, head of Iran’s nongovernmental schools, as saying.

Mahmoudzadeh said Gaj had “ incited riots” during a Persian literature exam for students without elaborating.

Iran’s reformist newspaper Shargh Daily reported that the Gaj Centre had cited excerpts from revolutionary poems by prominent dissident Farrokhi Yazdi.

The Gaj educational centre, founded in 2002 and, creates educational materials, including university entrance exams, has won multiple awards over the years for its publications.

Last year’s protests saw hundreds of people killed, including dozens of security personnel, and thousands arrested in connection with what officials labelled as “riots” fomented by foreign countries after Amini’s death.

Seven men have been executed in protest-related cases involving killings and other violence against security forces.

On Sunday, Iran’s police said it had restored morality police patrols to deal with women who “insist” on violating the dress code.

Norway Threatens $100,000 Daily Fine on Meta Over Data

On Monday, Norway’s data protection agency said it would ban Facebook and Instagram owner Meta from using users’ personal information for targeted advertising, threatening a $100,000 daily fine if the company continues.

The business practices of big US tech firms are under scrutiny across Europe over concerns about privacy, with huge fines handed out in recent years.

The Norwegian watchdog, Datatilsynet, said Meta uses information such as the location of users, the content they like and their posts for marketing purposes.

“The Norwegian Data Protection Authority considers that the practice of Meta is illegal and is therefore imposing a temporary ban of behavioural advertising on Facebook and Instagram,” it said in a statement.

The ban will begin on August 4 and last three months to give Meta time to take corrective measures. The company will be fined one million kroner ($100,000) per day if it fails to comply.

“We will analyse the decision ... but there is no immediate effect on our services,” Meta told AFP in a statement.

The Norwegian regulator added that its

top diplomat Wang Yi in Jakarta last week.

Wong said Australia wants more transparency and takes the view that “security is best provided for within the Pacific family.”

At the news conference, Sogavare accused the US and Australia of being “un-neighbourly” by criticising the police plan.

Israel’s Governing Coalition Proceeds with Overhaul Plan Ahead of Expected Protests

Israel’s governing coalition pushed ahead Monday with its contentious plan to overhaul the country’s judiciary, despite growing opposition from within the country’s military and a wave of mass protests expected this week.

A parliamentary committee was preparing a bill that would limit judicial oversight on some government decisions, legislation that has sparked intensifying criticism from military reservists in elite units, including the air force and cyberwarfare.

Many have warned they will not show up for duty if the overhaul moves ahead. Reservists, who make up the backbone of the country’s mostly compulsory military, played a key role in prompting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to pause the overhaul plan earlier this year.

In response to the legislation, which is expected to go before a final parliamentary vote early next week, a large protest movement is expected to stage a “day of disruption” Tuesday. These days of mass protest in the past have snarled traffic, choked the terminal at Israel’s main international airport, and descended into clashes between police and demonstrators.

EU, Latin American Leaders Hold Summit to Rekindle Ties

ruling was neither a ban on Facebook and Instagram operating in the country nor a blanket ban on behavioural advertising.

The Austrian digital privacy campaign group noyb, which has lodged a number of complaints against Meta’s activities, said it “welcomes this decision as a first important step” and hopes data regulators in other countries will follow suit.

Meta suffered a major setback earlier this year when European regulators dismissed the legal basis Meta had used to justify gathering users’ data for use in targeted advertising.

Meta suffered another major setback earlier this month when the European Court of Justice (ECJ) rejected its various workarounds and empowered antitrust regulators to consider data privacy issues when conducting investigations.

Solomon Islands Rebuffs Criticism of Boosted Security Ties With China

The leader of the Solomon Islands hit back Monday at criticism of his nation’s deepening security ties with China, saying the United States and Australia had nothing to fear.

Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare made the remarks at a news conference in the capital Honiara after returning from a visit to China, where he met with Chinese President Xi Jinping and other top officials.

Sogavare said that while in China, he signed nine agreements and memorandums, including a police cooperation plan.

He said the plan “enhances cooperation on law enforcement and security matters with a commitment by China to provide support as needed” to strengthen the capacity of police law enforcement in the Pacific nation.

The new agreements come after the Solomon Islands signed a security pact with China last year, raising fears of a military buildup in the region. The U.S. has countered with diplomatic moves of its own, including opening an embassy in the Solomon Islands.

The Solomon Islands switched allegiance from the self-ruled island of Taiwan to Beijing in 2019, threatening the close ties with the U.S. that date to World War II.

The US and Australia have raised concerns about the secrecy of the new police plan.

Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong told reporters she had asked about the plan when meeting China’s

Leaders from the European Union and Latin America were gathering for a major summit of long-lost relatives starting on Monday. Whether it will be a joyful meeting of long-lost friends remains to be seen.

Their last such encounter was eight years ago. Since then, the COVID-19 pandemic and Brazil’s three-year departure from the 33-nation Community of Latin American and Caribbean States — or CELAC — had made the Atlantic Ocean separating the two sides seem wider.

“The world has certainly changed during that time,” said EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. “So we need our close friends to be at our side in these uncertain times.” Yet, uncertainty still swirled around the two-day summit, too.

Division ranging from Russia’s war in Ukraine to trade, deforestation and slavery reparations has given extra spice to a meeting that will already be considered a success if all agree to meet more frequently from now on.

The 27-nation EU certainly takes its share of the blame for the estrangement.

“For too many years, Europe has been turning its back on what is, without a doubt, by far the most Euro-compatible region on the planet,” said Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares of Spain, which holds the rotating EU presidency.

Elton John Backs

Kevin Spacey’s Testimony at Actor’s Sexual Assault Trial

Elton John briefly testified Monday for the defence at Kevin Spacey’s sexual assault trial as the actor’s lawyer attempted to discredit a man who claimed the Oscar winner aggressively grabbed his crotch while driving to the singer’s summer ball.

John appeared in the London court by video link from Monaco after his husband, David Furnish, testified that Spacey did not attend the annual party at their Windsor home the year the accuser said he was attacked.

One of the alleged victims said he was driving Spacey to the White Tie & Tiara Ball in 2004 or 2005 when the actor grabbed him so forcefully that he almost ran off the road.

Furnish supported Spacey’s testimony that he only attended the event in 2001. Furnish said he had reviewed photographs taken at the party from 2001 to 2005, and Spacey only appeared in images that one year. He said all guests were photographed each year.

A Mutual fund (UnitTrust) is an investment vehicle managed by a SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) registered Fund Manager. Investors with similar objectives buy units of the Fund so that the Fund Manager can buy securities that willl generate their desired return.

An ETF (Exchange Traded Fund) is a type of fund which owns the assets (shares of stock, bonds, oil futures, gold bars, foreign currency, etc.) and divides ownership of those assets into shares. Investors can buy these ‘shares’ on the

floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange. A REIT (Real Estate InvestmentTrust) is an investment vehicle that allows both small and large investors to part-own real estate ventures (eg. Offices, Houses, Hospitals) in proportion to their investments. The assets are divided into shares that are traded on the Nigerian Stock Exchange.

GUIDE TO DATA:

Date: All fund prices are quoted in Naira as at 14-July-2023, unless otherwise stated.

Offer price: The price at which units of a trust or ETF are bought by investors.

Bid Price: The price at which Investors redeem (sell) units of a trust or ETF.

Yield/Total Return: Denotes the total return an investor would have earned on his investment. Money Market Funds report Yield while others report Year- to-date Total Return.

NAV: Is value per share of the real estate assets held by a REIT on a specific date.

DAILY PRICE LIST FOR MUTUAL FUNDS, REITS and ETFS

INFRASTRUCTURE FUND

CHAIRMAN, NBA 2023 TCCP, MAZI AFAM OSIGWE, SAN

ALTERNATE CHAIRMAN, NBA 2023 TCCP, MRS OYINKANSOLA BADEJO-OKUSANYA

QUOTABLE

‘If you do not carry along the States in policy making, then, fundamentally, there’s an error. The Land Use Act needs to be unbundled 100%. It’s not functional. The Land Use Act, is actually an albatross.” - Ronke Sokefun, Lawyer, former Chairman, Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation

Conditions for the Admissibility of Deceased’s Statement as a Dying Declaration

Page IV

COLUMNIST

PROF MIKE OZEKHOME, CON, SAN, FCIArb,, PH.D. LLD Constitutional Democracy, means a system of government, in which political and governmental power, is defined, limited and shared by a grundnorm called the Constitution, which provides inbuilt checks and balances.

This column seeks to fiercely discuss constitutional, legal and political issues, with a view to strengthening, deepening and widening the plenitude and amplitude of democracy and good governance, without fear or favour.

The writer of this column, Prof Mike Ozekhome, SAN, is a Constitutional Lawyer, Human Rights Activist, Pro-Democracy Campaigner, Notary Public and Motivational Speaker. He co-founded the Civil Liberties Organisation (CLO), Nigeria’s pioneer human rights league, on October 15, 1987, the Universal defenders of Democracy (UDD), in 1992, and with Chief Gani Fawehinmi and others in 1998, the Joint Action Committee of Nigeria (JACON), to push out the military. In his early days, he lectured at the University of Ife. Prof Ozekhome is an author of many books. He is also a Special Counsel at the International Criminal Court (ICC), at The Hague.

Page V

Lagos CJ Releases

30 Inmates

Page V

SAN Gets FG’s Nod for a New University

Page V

‘There is no Perfect Constitution’, Abiodun Olatunji, SAN

Emefiele: That the Rule of Law May Prevail

Many Nigerians are still terribly upset with Mr Godwin Emefiele aka ‘Mefi’, the suspended Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), so much so that some desire that he be ‘burnt at the stake’ by the courts (of course, I’m speaking figuratively and not literally), especially because of the recent disastrous Naira redesign policy that caused Nigerians so much pain and suffering, some of the effects of which we are still feeling up till today. These are not the best of times for Mr Emefiele, whose cup definitely seems to be full and running over with all sorts of allegations. What did Nigerians find more annoying? Some of the Apex Bank’s obnoxious policies under Mr Emefiele’s watch, which plunged Nigeria and Nigerians into even more economic adversity? Allegations of corruption against him, while the people faced untold hardship? Or the allegation that Mefi also wanted to run for the office of President in the 2023 general elections?

Mefi: The Legal Perspective

Whichever one it is, we must put Mr Emefiele’s matter into proper context from the legal point of view, while we wait for the courts to decide whether Mr Emefiele is indeed, worthy of being nailed to the cross! Social media is always quick to make their own judgements about some of these sensational cases, which may not necessarily align with the actual provisions of the law and good judicial precedent; and when some of the decisions then come, the opposite of what has been decided in the court of public opinion, the people cry blue murder! Mefi’s matter has now become ‘sub judice’, since he has been charged to court, so, I’m unable to delve too deeply into it - I must tread as lightly as possible.

Mr Emefiele’s Presidential Aspiration

Let me first dispose of Mr Emefiele’s alleged aspiration to become President of Nigeria (Mefi 2023). I have always reminded us that things which may be regarded as immoral, are not necessarily unlawful (Jurisprudence 101). Stealing is both immoral and unlawful; whereas, a man marrying two sisters may be seen as being immoral, but he has committed no crime. Therefore, even if people found Mr Emefiele’s aspiration to become Nigeria’s President particularly over-ambitious and distasteful (and many did), having satisfied the conditions for qualification for election for office of President set out in Section 131(a), (b) & (d) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended in 2023)(the Constitution), if he was a member of a political party and sponsored by that party, he would have been free to vie for the office of President, except he fell within any of the disqualifications mentioned in Section 137 of the Constitution (which he did not).

Nigeria has not, at least, particularly not in the last eight years, been a country where ineptitude, nonperformance, underperformance or corruption can bar you from getting into any office. In fact, during the Buhari administration, it seemed as if, the more incompetent you were, the better your chances for progress were; illiteracy and under-qualification were also not an obstacle either. I was shocked to hear that the head of one of our numerous institutions can barely read or write, and never scored more than 20% in any promotion examination! Yet, he now heads the institution. So, Mefi’s underperformance as CBN Governor, wouldn’t have been an obstacle to his aspiration to be President, not in Nigeria of today anyway. Let’s hope that the Tinubu administration, changes this regressive narrative.

And, while it is indisputable that Mr Emefiele left Nigeria and Nigerians worse off than when he met us, one question that keeps coming to mind is, since the private sector where he emerged from plays a different ball game, in that performance is usually the determinant of progress there, Mefi must have been above average to rise to the top of his career, not just as a Banker, but as the Chief Executive of one of the largest banks in Nigeria; so, what went wrong with him as the CBN Governor?

Possible Reasons

Mr Emefiele is certainly blameworthy for the bad financial situation Nigeria is in, seeing as the buck stops at his table as far as Nigeria’s monetary policy is concerned. This is where allegations of corruption must be thoroughly investigated, to ascertain if there is any link between his decisions which displayed poor judgement, like the nonsensical multiple foreign exchange regime which didn’t start in his time, but was accentuated under him, and the consequences that arose from it under his watch, terrible and chaotic.

Be that as it may, we cannot pretend that we are unaware that Mr Emefiele wasn’t working alone; because despite the fact that Section 1(3) of the Central Bank Act 2007 (CBN Act) provides for the independence of the CBN in the discharge of its functions, we are also very much aware of the fact that there was a considerable amount of

request to restructure the N22.72 trillion Ways and Means Advances.

onikepo.braithwaite@thisdaylive.

ONIKEPO BRAITHWAITE The Advocate

But, can the examples which I have highlighted above, translate to criminality? Maybe, maybe not. A friend of mine who is an Economist, asked me repeatedly if Mr Emefiele couldn’t face criminal prosecution for breaching Section 38 of the CBN Act with the ways and means advances he continually extended to Government unlawfully; and I answered, no, not unless such breach constitutes a criminal offence provided for in law - see Section 36(12) of the Constitution, on the inability to convict an individual of an offence that isn’t defined and penalty prescribed in a written law. See Tafida v FRN (2013) LPELR-21859 (SC) per Kumai Bayang Aka’ahs, JSC; Abidoye v FRN (2013) LPELR-21899(SC) per Nwali Sylvester Ngwuta, JSC.

As a Public Officer, for the purposes of Code of Conduct, by virtue of the Fifth Schedule to the Constitution Part II Paragraph 14, at best we could say that by Mr Emefiele’s conduct he exhibited poor judgement and his personal interest conflicted with that of his duties and responsibilities, and constituted a gross abuse of his powers (see Paragraphs 1 & 9 Fifth Schedule to the Constitution Part 1 Code of Conduct for Public Officers). If Mr Emefiele had been found guilty of contravening the Code by the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT), it could have ordered his vacation of office, seizure of property acquired by abuse of office or corruption, or order that he be prosecuted by a court of competent jurisdiction, if any of his actions constituted a criminal offence.

But, it appears that CBN’s warped policies under Mr Emefiele’s watch, may be the least of his problems, as I’m not sure that underperformance or even recklessness in performing his duties constitute any offences known to law, unless of course, there’s corruption, fraud, money laundering and the like involved. I stand to be corrected. See Tafida v FRN (Supra). On the contrary, any allegations of involvement in terrorism, are dire.

interference in CBN’s activities by the Executive, both lawfully and unlawfully. An example of lawful interference is Section 20(3) of the CBN Act, where the approval of the President is required, in order to proceed with any currency redesign policy. Even though the latest currency redesign policy was initiated for the wrong reasons, having very little to do with monetary policy, and more to do with politics and curbing ‘vote buying’, as disastrous as the policy was, it had the stamp of approval of former President, Muhammadu Buhari, which is a precondition for its implementation. It is obvious that there was nothing altruistic about that policy, because if there was, when the hell Nigerians were going through became apparent Government would have halted it, seeing as the welfare of the people is the primary purpose of Government (Section 14(2)(b) of the Constitution). But, instead, Government went ahead and flouted the order of the Supreme Court halting the useless policy. The former AGF, Abubakar Malami, SAN, also threw his role as the protector of the rights of the Nigerian people to the wind, in favour of ‘kow-towing’ to the President. The liability for this catastrophic policy, is therefore joint, between former President Buhari and Mr Emefiele.

As for unlawful intervention in the activities of the CBN, that too went on quite freely. In December 2018, a photograph of Mr Emefiele in a conversation with late Alhaji Samaila Isa Funtua went viral, with the public scornfully commenting that Mefi was ‘kow-towing’ to Alhaji Funtua, while taking instructions from him! I remember making the following comment on this page in August 2019,

after President Buhari had issued a directive to the CBN not to give anybody funds to import food into Nigeria, in spite of the decrease in agricultural output and threat of food insecurity, as a result of the violence unleashed on farms and farmers by Herders and their cattle, destroying produce etc:

“I will not waste your time and mine delving into Section 1(3) of the Central Bank of Nigeria Act 2007 (CBN Act), which provides inter alia that, the CBN shall be an independent body in the discharge of its functions, and assert that, if Baba (President Buhari) can simply issue directives to the CBN to follow, ‘it is obvious that the CBN is anything but independent’. We all know that, currently, the concept of ‘separation of powers’ remains a concept, as it is not applicable in Nigeria, because the Executive is in complete control of all the organs of government and their institutions, contrary to Sections 4, 5 and 6 of the Constitution”.

Nevertheless, the fact that there was interference in CBN’s affairs from the Executive and other quarters, certainly does not absolve Mr Emefiele of responsibility. He also had the option of handing in his resignation, had he been dissatisfied with the state of affairs. The issue of the incessant breach of Section 38 of the CBN Act to give ways and means advances to the Federal Government unlawfully, was also a joint effort between Mr Emefiele/CBN and the Executive arm of government. In fact, the Legislature also became an active collaborator in this illegality, when the 9th Senate approved former President Buhari’s

Allegations of Terrorism

It is the allegations that have purportedly been levelled against Mr Emefiele by DSS in connection with alleged terrorism financing, that are more troubling. The details of these allegations are however, sketchy, as the public has not been provided with any information in this regard. And, so far, the excerpts of the charge sheet of the case filed against Mr Emefiele at the Federal High Court, Lagos which made the rounds on social media, showed two charges relating to possession of a firearm and ammunition, contrary to Sections 4 & 8 and punishable under Section 27(1)(b)(i) & (ii) of the Firearms Act 2004, that is, imprisonment not exceeding a term of five years. However, only the first page of the charge sheet was circulated as at last Saturday, meaning that there may be other charges which we have not seen. What we have seen so far, has nothing to do with any charges of terrorism.

Nevertheless, Section 1(1) of the Terrorism (Prevention) Act 2011 (as amended in 2013) (TPA) prohibits all acts of terrorism and financing of terrorism, and anybody who engages in terrorism or attempts or threatens any act of same, finances terrorism, is an accomplice, assists etc, is liable upon conviction for any of the terrorism related offences to a maximum of death sentence. In short, terrorism and anything related to it, is an extremely grave offence.

Bail

Section 162 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) provides inter alia that, a Defendant charged with an offence that is punishable with imprisonment that exceeds three years (like Mr Emefiele), shall be released on bail, except in certain circumstances, for instance, if there is ground to believe that the Defendant will jump bail, or interfere with the investigation or witnesses (among other exceptions). See Omodara v State 2004 1 NWLR Part 853 page 80 at 89-90; Anaekwe v COP 1996 3 NWLR Part 436 Page 332. In Adams v Attorney-General of the Federation 2007 All FWLR Part 355 Page 429 at 445, the Court of Appeal held inter alia, that the onus is on the prosecution to show that the Applicant for bail is one that should be refused bail. In Southern Nigeria, in exceptional circumstances, even murder is bailable offence, though such bail must be granted by a High Court Judge. This means that Mr Emefiele is well within his rights to have applied for bail, and if he met the criteria, be granted same, unless the prosecution could prove otherwise.

Conclusion

No one is saying that Mr Emefiele is innocent or guilty of the allegations levelled against him. This is for the court to decide. What is crucial is that, no matter what Mr Emefiele is accused of doing, the rule of law must prevail. This is the only way to show the world, that Nigeria is on a new and positive trajectory, building a lawful and orderly society.

“….we cannot pretend that we are unaware that Mr Emefiele wasn’t working alone….there was a considerable amount of interference in CBN's activities by the Executive, both lawfully and unlawfully…. An example of lawful interference is Section 20(3) of the CBN Act, where the approval of the President is required, in order to proceed with any currency redesign policy…The liability for this catastrophic policy, is therefore joint, between former President Buhari and Mr Emefiele”

Conditions for the Admissibility of Deceased’s Statement as a Dying Declaration

Facts

The Appellant was charged with the offence of murder punishable under Section 319 (1) of the Criminal Code, Laws of Oyo State, before the High Court of Oyo State. The case of the Respondent was that the Appellant also nicknamed “Kazeem Pele”, murdered one Ayuba Karim. The Respondent’s witnesses - PW1, PW2 and PW4 testified that on 16th February, 1998, they had met the deceased in a pool of his blood with machete cuts all over his body, and the deceased had persistently mentioned the name of the Appellant as his attacker before he died. The Appellant raised alibi in his defence. He claimed that he had travelled to Lagos to visit his brother on 15th February, 1998, and he spent some days there before returning to Ibadan. After the trial, the trial court delivered its judgement in which it convicted the Appellant for murder and sentenced him to death by hanging. Dissatisfied, the Appellant filed an appeal before the Court of Appeal. The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal; hence the Appellant filed a further appeal at the Supreme Court.

Issues for Determination

The Supreme Court adopted the following issues formulated by the Appellant, in its determination of the appeal:

1. Whether the lower court was right to have affirmed the findings of the trial court which discountenanced the alibi raised by the Appellant, and held that the Appellant failed to discharge the burden placed on him to prove his alibi.

2. Whether the lower court was right when it held that the dying declaration of the deceased and the circumstantial evidence in the case was unequivocal, and irresistibly pointed to the Appellant as the person who inflicted the machete cuts on the deceased.

Arguments

On the 1st issue, counsel for the Appellant contended that the Respondent failed to investigate the defence of alibi raised by the Appellant. He submitted that the Appellant’s defence of alibi was not disproved by the Respondent, and there was no credible evidence fixing the Appellant to the scene of the murder.

Counsel for the Respondent on the other hand, submitted that the defence of alibi raised by the Appellant was dislodged by credible evidence adduced by the Respondent. He argued that the dying declaration of the deceased, as well as the testimonies of the prosecution witnesses not only fixed the Appellant at the scene of the crime, but also established that he committed the crime. He submitted further that even though the Respondent has the duty to investigate the defence of alibi when properly raised, the Appellant has a greater duty to provide the evidence showing that he was not at the scene of the murder, but elsewhere as claimed by him. According to him, the Appellant’s failure to call the brother he claimed to have visited in his alibi, was fatal to the defence, as the said brother’s evidence was very essential to the defence.

On the 2nd issue, counsel for the Appellant argued that the statement made by the deceased did not qualify as a dying declaration under Section 40(1) and (2) of the Evidence Act, 2011. He contended that the circumstantial evidence relied upon by the trial court in admitting the said statement as the dying declaration of the deceased and convicting the Appellant, was merely based on suspicion and previous record of the Appellant. He submitted that the said dying declaration and circumstantial evidence in this case, were not cogent and compelling to warrant the Appellant’s conviction for murder.

In the Supreme Court of Nigeria Holden at Abuja

On Friday, the 24th day of March, 2023

Before Their Lordships

Olukayode Ariwoola

John Inyang Okoro

Amina Adamu Augie

Mohammed Lawal Garba

Emmanuel Akomaye Agim Justices, Supreme Court SC.875/2017

Between KAZEEM AYINDE

accused person to the scene of the crime at the material time, failure to investigate an alibi raised by the accused person will not be fatal to the case of the prosecution. The Court relied on its decision on its decision in EBRI v THE STATE (2004) ALL FWLR (PT. 216) 420 at 435.

The Court held that in the two statements the Appellant made to PW4 and PW6, the Appellant merely said that he left Ibadan to Lagos on 15th February, 1998 and spent three days; however, they were completely devoid of the crucial particulars that could warrant any investigation by the Police at all. In the circumstance, since the fundamental particulars to enable the defence of alibi to have been properly investigated by the Police were not there, even if there was indeed, failure by the Police to investigate it (which was not the case here), that failure, ipso facto, was not fatal to the prosecution’s case against the Appellant, since the plea or defence was not properly raised as required by the law. The Court also referred to the evidence of the Appellant’s wife, while testifying in the Appellant’s defence, that she and the Appellant slept together on the night of 15/2/98 to 16/2/98 and the Appellant went to Lagos, but not on that day; and the statement of the Appellant in Exhibit B that he slept inside his house with his wife on 15/2/98 to 16/2/98. The Court held that these pieces of direct, cogent and irresistibly compelling evidence effectively disproved the plea of alibi put up by the Appellant before the trial court that he travelled to Lagos on 15/2/98 and returned to Ibadan on 17/2/98, and the plea was rightly rejected by the two lower courts.

RESPONDENT

APPELLANT And THE STATE

(Lead Judgement delivered by Honourable Mohammed Lawal Garba, JSC)

In response, counsel for the Respondent argued that the trial court was right to have admitted and relied on the dying declaration of the deceased to convict the Appellant for the offence of murder, and the Court of Appeal rightly upheld the findings of the trial court. He submitted that the deceased’s persistent mentioning of the name of the Appellant to PW1, PW2 and PW4 as the person who fatally injured him was not based on suspicion or mere conjecture, but on evidence which is admissible and reliable as a dying declaration.

Court’s Judgement and Rationale

Determining the 1st issue, the Apex Court held that an accused person who relies on the defence of alibi bears the initial evidential burden of providing the essential particulars and evidence of such a defence on the balance of probabilities, in order for the duty of the Police or prosecution to investigate it for the purpose of disproving same at the trial court to arise. The Court referred to IFEJIRIKA v STATE (1999) 3 NWLR (PT. 593) 59 at 78.

The Court held that for the defence of alibi to avail an accused person, he must not only raise it at the earliest opportunity, but also provide the relevant and material particulars of the specifically identified or identifiable place he was, the date and time as well as the name(s) of people he was with at the material time, in order for proper investigation to be conducted on it by the Police or prosecution before trial of the offence he was charged with. The Court also held that although failure to investigate a plea of alibi properly raised may be fatal to the case of the prosecution as it creates a doubt and undermines the attainment of the standard of proof beyond reasonable doubt; however, where there is strong, credible and compelling evidence specifically and unequivocally fixing an

On the 2nd issue, the Court reproduced Section 40 of the Evidence Act, 2011 (then applicable as Section 33 (1) of the Evidence Act 1990) which provides that a statement made by a person as to the cause of his death or circumstances or events which resulted in his eventual death, where such death is in question, is admissible in evidence, where at the time he made the statement, he believed himself to be in danger of approaching or imminent death. The Court held that the conditions to be satisfied for a statement made by a deceased person to qualify and be admissible in evidence as a dying declaration include: (a) that the maker of the statement must have at time he made the statement, believed himself to be in real danger of imminent death; (b) that the statement must be relevant and admissible as to the cause of the maker’s death or any circumstances of the events which resulted in his death; (c) that the cause of the death of the deceased maker must be in issue at the trial at which the statement is to be proved.

The Court held that the unchallenged evidence of PW1, PW2 and PW3 was that the deceased whom they met lying in a pool of blood with machete cuts all over his body, was repeatedly saying “Kazeem Pele has killed me” in Yoruba language. It was apparent that the statement was made by the deceased in the fear of imminent death, and without any hope of survival. The statement also showed that the deceased knew the Appellant before the incident, and so was not in doubt about the person who inflicted the injuries on him. The Court also held that the statement was in respect of the cause and circumstances of the death of the deceased, and it was tendered at the trial of the Appellant for the murder of the deceased, at which the death of the deceased arose for determination. The trial court was therefore, right to have admitted and relied on the said statement as a dying declaration admissible in evidence, by virtue of the provisions of Section 40 of the Evidence Act. The Court of Appeal also rightly affirmed that position.

Appeal Dismissed.

Representation

B. Ibironke Esq. with K. C. Ezewuzie, Esq. for the Appellant.

A. Sobaloju Esq. for the Respondent.

Reported by Optimum Publishers Limited, Publishers of the Nigerian Monthly Law Report (NMLR)(An affiliate of Babalakin & Co.)

“….. the conditions to be satisfied for a statement made by a deceased person to qualify and be admissible in evidence as a dying declaration include: (a) that the maker of the statement must have at time he made the statement, believed himself to be in real danger of imminent death; (b) that the statement must be relevant and admissible as to the cause of the maker’s dearth…..”

Honourable Mohammed Lawal Garba, JSC

‘There is no Perfect Constitution’, Abiodun Olatunji, SAN

Stories by Steve Aya

There has never been a perfect constitution anywhere in the world; therefore, the success of Nigeria's democracy depends on a strong Judiciary, media, and security agencies amongst others. These were the submissions of Mr Abiodun Adediran Olatunji, SAN.

The senior Lawyer said this while delivering the lecture at the 2023 Annual Lecture of the National Association of Judicial Correspondents (NAJUC) held at the Muson Centre, Lagos, with the Theme, ‘Birthing a New Nigeria: Role of the Judiciary, Security Agencies and the Media in a Democratic Society’.

Lagos CJ Releases 30 Inmates

Freedom came the way of 30 inmates of various Correctional Centres in Lagos and Ogun, as the Chief Judge of Lagos State, Justice Kazeem Alogba granted them freedom.

Those granted freedom included four young boys from Adigbe Forster Home, Ogun State, who were minors at the time they committed the offence for which they were arrested.

Some of them have been in prison custody since 2013, before they were granted freedom yesterday.

The programme was held under the De-congestion of the Custodial Centres Exercise 2023, at Justice Samuel Ilori Court House, Ogba.

Justice Alogba granted them freedom under the powers conferred on him by Section 1(1) of the Criminal Justice Release from Custody Special Provision Act: 24 Feb 2022 and provisions of Administration of Criminal Justice Law 2019 of Lagos State. He admonished them to sin no more. Justice Alogba explained that the exercise was carried out, to ensure that the inmates do not stay in prison longer than they would have served if they had been convicted.

"It is for this reason and so many other reasons that the exercise is put up, and this is the reason why the exercise doesn't hold too frequently", he said.

Justice Alogba commended the Justice Adenike Coker-led Committee that looked into the case of those released, for doing a thorough job.

"Since it is a matter required by law, we must be diligent in carrying out the exercise. The members of the Committee have done excellently well.

Justice Alogba described the case of the freed inmates, as a systemic failure.

"Failure, not because the courts are not sitting; but, failure as a result of hitches in the course of prosecuting offenders."

Justice Alogba emphasised that he was not releasing the inmates,

because he had just come back from the holy pilgrimage.

"I am not a Father Christmas. The exercise we are witnessing today is a self-cleansing exercise, as provided for in the law.

"The Committee has gone through due process, in carrying out the exercise. I would still insist on due process and diligence, in all that we do", he said.

In his address, the Controller of Nigeria Correction Service, Lagos Command (NCS Lagos), Ben Freedman, disclosed that about 9,000 inmates are in three Correctional Centres in the State. Freedman who was represented by the Deputy Controller, NCS Lagos, (DCC) Comfort Obiosio, urged the Chief Judge to use his good offices to see that privileges were given to some remorseful inmates to decongest the Custodial Centres.

"We have almost 9,000 locked up in Lagos, and we hope the Chief Judge uses his good office to free those qualified and decongest the facilities", Obiosio said.

The Lagos State Commissioner for Police, (CP) Idowu Owohunwa, represented by the Deputy Commissioner for Police, DCP Waheed Ayilara, said that the Nigeria Police has a partner in the justice system, and will continue to ensure due process in carrying out their services.

He also urged the Chief Judge to make the exercise a continuous one to reduce the number of inmates in the prison, noting that the maximum capacity should be about 1, 500.

"We cannot continue to keep the 9,000 inmates, as it is highly unbearable.

"Those who are about to get freedom today, must have learned one or two lessons.

"Being in Correctional Centres does not mean you cannot be reintegrated back into society.

"The Police will continue to be diligent in their investigation, to help with the decongestion", Ayilara gave assurance.

Quoting Prof Ambedkar, the former Chairman of the Constitution Drafting Committee of India who said: “However, good a constitution may be, it is sure to turn out bad, because those who are called to work it happen to be a bad lot. However, bad a constitution may be, it may turn out to be good, if those who are called to work it happen to be a good lot’’.

He further identified several fundamental issues the government must resolve, for the Judiciary to become strong and independent. These included the meritbased appointment of Justices/Judges, security of Justices/Judges' tenures,

establishment/strengthening of State Judicial Councils, improved welfare of Judicial officers, sustenance of Judicial financial autonomy, while intimidation if Judges must end.

Also Speaking at the event, the Chairman of the event, Justice Taiwo Taiwo (Rtd), lamented the poor remuneration for retired Justices as a problem, particularly for Federal Judges. He revealed that his total pension as a retired Judge is below N500,000, an amount inadequate to meet his needs in the current poor economy.

"Federal Judges are badly treated after retirement, compared to State Judges.

Lagos State has tried retired Judges. Lagos gives retired Judges allowances for life, buys them cars, and sends them gifts as if they're in service’’, Justice Taiwo added.

The Judge further noted that there is a symbiotic relationship between the Judiciary and the Press, concerning information. “We owe a lot to journalists, because the government at times has to read (the papers) and come to terms with what the people are thinking, and they can't get the people's feelings unless they read the papers and listen to the news. It is from there, they'll gauge the tempo.”

Others who spoke along the same line at the event,

include Mr Adetunji Oyeyipo, SAN, Mr Abiodun Olatunji, SAN and the former Editor of The Nation newspaper, Mr Lekan Otunfodunrin.

Earlier, NAJUC Chairman, Peter Fowoyo emphasised the importance of key sectors to fulfil their constitutional roles, in the country's interest. He tasked the Judiciary and security agencies, on the need to step up their game.

"To birth a new Nigeria therefore, the Judiciary, the security agencies, and indeed, the media, must not only identify their roles and play it accordingly, they must also work together for the betterment of all Nigerians’’, Fowoyo added.

SAN Gets FG’s Nod for a New University

A Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Sam Olugunorisa, has received the approval of the Federal Executive Council for Sam Maris University.

The University which just received its licence from the Federal Executive Council of Nigeria, is situated in Supare-Akoko, Ondo State, Nigeria.

According to Ologunorisa, SAN: ‘The University was borne out of the desire to increase access to quality university education, so as to accommodate the large population of well-qualified candidates that cannot have placement in existing Nigerian Universities.

‘At Sam Maris University, we are motivated to create an ICT-driven academic environment, conducive and committed to highquality teaching, experiential learning, cutting-edge and high-impact research, and good character.

‘We are driven by the need to produce globally competitive graduates, nurtured with the spirit of entrepreneurship. We are also driven by the need to provide the new generation of leaders, with the requisite knowledge and skills required to run the emerging 21st-century knowledge-driven economy.

‘The vision of Sam Maris

University, would be a world-renowned University that is internationally distinguished for its excellent research, high academic standards (in legal, managerial, social, and applied sciences), and commitment to social justice.

‘Its mission is to discover, disseminate and apply the knowledge of law, social, management and applied sciences for human wellbeing and the development of society.

‘The nature of the proposed University and its focal point, is to provide quality instruction in Law, Humanities, Management and Social Sciences,

and Applied Sciences. The University is fully residential and its door is opened to all, irrespective of colour, race, gender, and social status. Our ultimate goal is to produce job creators, rather than job seekers.

‘The University is to run in four (4) phases before it attains full maturity. Each phase will run for four (4) years. The first phase of the University is 2023 to 2027.

‘Sam Maris University which is being promoted by Sam Maris Foundation, is committed to providing a world class education that is bilingual, entrepreneurial and ICT driven.’

Two Heads of Enclaves, Four Others Remanded in Prison for Land Encroachment

Ademola Orunbon in Ogun State

Two Heads of Enclaves (Baales), alongside four others, have been remanded, in Ibara Correctional Centre, Abeokuta, by Magistrate Morenikeji Osibajo, for encroaching on 24.253 hectares of land, located at Olorunsogo Village, Oba Road in Abeokuta, belonging to the Ogun State Broadcasting Corporation (OGBC).

The suspects are, Messers Olalekan Odemuyiwa,

58, Baale, Agejo Village, Segun Konigbagbe, 50, Baale, Ake Village, both in Obafemi-Owode Local Government Area. Others are Wasiu Ogunsina, 51, Kabiru Olafenwa, Babatunde Odemuyiwa, 61 and Dare Awodele.

Presiding over the court sitting in Abeokuta, Magistrate Osibajo, said the suspects would be detained for a period of 30 days at the Ibara Correctional Centre, pending the issuance of legal advice from the State Director of

Public Prosecution, as well as the filling of the information paper of the High Court as the need arises.

The Police Prosecutor, Inspector, Adekanmi Adeusi, attached to Task Force and Anti-Land Grabbing Unit, noted that the matter was reported through a petition by the management of Ogun State Broadcasting Corporation (OGBC) to the office of the Secretary to the State Government on June 19, 2023.

Inspector Adeusi stated that the land grabbers entered the land belonging to OGBC, sold and developed some parts, thereby preventing them from using the said land.

In view of this, management of the Corporation had called for steps to retrieve the land from grabbers, and prevent the loss of the entire land to the illegal occupants. Magistrate Osibajo, however, adjourned the case to August 15, 2023.

L-R: MC of the 2023 Annual NAJUC Lecture, Mr Joshua Morakinyo; National Chairman, NAJUC, Mr Peter Fowoyo; Guest Lecturer & NAJUC Patron, Mr Abiodun Olatunji, SAN; Chairman of the 2023 Annual NAJUC Lecture, Hon. Justice Taiwo Taiwo (Rtd); Mr Adetunji Oyeyipo, SAN and former Editor, The Nation Newspaper, Mr Lekan Otunfodunrin at the Annual NAJUC Lecture which held at the MUSON Centre, Lagos recently

Chief Judge of Lagos State, Hon Justice Kazeem Alogba

Sam Maris University, Supare-Akoko, Ondo State

2023 NBA-AGC: A Convergence of Ideas

From August 25 to September 1, 2023, Lawyers from all the nooks and crannies in Nigeria will converge in the Nation’s capital, Abuja, for the Annual General Conference of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA). Unarguably, this is the world’s largest gathering of Lawyers. This year, NBA's flagship event holds at the M.K.O Abiola National Stadium in Abuja. Already, over 14,000 Lawyers have registered, and many more are expected to register on site at the Conference venue. Onikepo Braithwaite and Jude Igbanoi sought out the Chairman and Co-Chairman of the Technical Committee on Conference Planning, past NBA General Secretary, Mazi Afam Osigwe, SAN and Mrs Oyinkansola Badejo-Okunsanya to determine their level of preparedness for the upcoming Conference, to which other Bar Associations from other countries are expected to attend

Mazi Afam Osigwe, SAN

'Our Conference Will Focus on Sustainable Development'

The Conference theme, ‘Getting it Right, Charting the Course for Nigeria’s Nation Building’ appears quite broad and encompassing. There doesn’t seem to be much law in it. What informed this year’s Conference theme? Kindly, speak to the theme

The Nigerian Bar Association strongly believes that ineffective leadership, lack of vision and fidelity to the achieving the objectives of government, are the bane of development in Nigeria.

The NBA believes that if we do things in all spheres of our National life, Nigeria will attain its pride of place in the comity of nations. If the country tackles its security challenges, eliminates waste in government, tackles corruption and stabilises the economy, it will

Mrs Badejo-OkusanyaOyinkansola

'We Promise a ‘BestEver’ Conference'

Putting together a Conference of this magnitude, must necessarily come with its peculiar challenges. What are those challenges, and how are you tackling them?

Thank you. There is no task that is insurmountable once you break it down into smaller, manageable components. That is what project management is all about. And, the Annual General Conference is definitely a project. A humongous one at that, and it must be properly managed to

be successful. Teamwork is critical to managing a project of any magnitude really. The cliché that teamwork makes the dream work is true, and this, I would say, is the major tool we have deployed in the Conference Planning Committee to tackle these challenges you refer to.

The first thing that the Chairman of the CPC, Mazi Afam Osigwe, SAN did, was to divide the CPC into subcommittees. We have sub-committees for Finance & Fundraising; Content, Entertainment; Administration; Media & Publicity; Monitoring & Evaluation; and Logistics, which I chair. Through the sub-committees, we have been able to handle the myriad of tasks required, to put this huge project together. It’s daunting, no doubt, but with the help of God we are getting it right!

What are the highlights of the Conference? Who will deliver the Keynote Address? Who are some

"The NBA believes that if we do things in all spheres of our National life, Nigeria will attain its pride of place in the comity of nations"

Mazi Afam Osigwe, SAN Mrs Oyinkansola Badejo-Okusanya

2023 NBA-AGC: A Convergence of Ideas

be a beautiful bride that all will want to do business with. The quality of life of its people, will also be greatly improved.

NBA agrees that strong, effective, transparent, and accountable institutions are essential for sustainable development, and critical for governments to deliver services to their citizens. Thus, strong institutions are important for economic development and performance. The questions often arise, how do we build strong institutions? How do we strengthen existing institutions? How do we build institutions that will ensure Nigerians citizens enjoy good governance? We will do this by ensuring that our leaders do what they promised to do, and the citizens give them the requisite support.

Good governance brings about social development. It is essential for social development. Good governance does not end only with economic development. The result of development, ensures that every class of people in society enjoys the basis of fairness. It is believed that Lawyers are essential for the protection of human rights, rule of law, access to justice and general advocacy for good governance, and so, it became expedient to focus the theme of this year’s Conference on conversations of how we can get it right as a country, while touch lighting the essential role of Lawyers in that regard. The relationship of good governance with political development, is quite important. If the political leaders of a country are not active in establishing good governance, then its establishment in that country is not possible. Its success depends largely on the sincerity of the political leadership, and adherence to the rules and regulations of the political establishment.

What resonates across all religious, tribal, political and demographic divides, is the desire for good, purposeful leadership to bring us to the nation that we have the potential to become. Against this backdrop, the theme of this year’s Conference: “Getting it Right – Charting the Course for Nigeria’s Nation Building”, is most apposite. It is a carefully thought-out theme, that reflects our current realities. We are on the cusp of a new administration, and demands are stringent for our leaders to get it right in all areas of our national development. And the role of the legal profession in the quest for getting it right, will be central to discussions at the Conference.

We must therefore get it right.

The NBA President announced last week that over 14,000 delegates have already registered. Does your Committee have the capacity to handle this humongous number of delegates? Where is the venue of the Conference?

We are proud to say that over 14,000 delegates have registered for the Conference. This number has informed the choice of the Moshood Abiola National Stadium, Abuja, as the venue for this year’s Conference and we daresay, delegates will not be disappointed.

From the religious services to kick off the event, the golf and football tournaments, the health walks, the plenary and breakout sessions, to the ever-vibrant Friendship Centre and Mammy market, the bustling Exhibition Hall, the ‘Unbarred’ concert and the President’s Dinner, the An-

of the other Speakers Lawyers should expect, and what are some of the topics they will be speaking on? What are the topics of some of the breakout sessions?

The highlights of the Conference, keynote speaker and other speakers – watch this space! Our theme, Getting it Right is so apposite for a time like this in our national development, that it has generated tremendous interest. Fitting all the proposed topics and eager speakers and resource persons into the limited number of sessions is a challenge. The Content Sub-Committee have had their work cut out for them, but they have been able to come up with a sterling faculty and very soon, we shall begin to share details with the delegates and the public.

Many young Lawyers have complained about the Conference registration fee, which they say is astronomical. For new wigs less than five years at the Bar, shouldn’t there be a considerable discount to enable them to afford the cost to attend? What concessions have you made to make the Conference more affordable for young Lawyers? Hotel discounts etc?

Transport arrangements? I would be very surprised, to hear that young lawyers are complaining about Conference fees. Let’s face it, our conferences are expensive to organise, because of

the sheer number of delegates. Last year, we had over 14,000 registered delegates. This year, we have hit that mark, and the figure is still climbing. At the close of early bird registration, we had almost 12,000 registered delegates.

Now, this is a week-long Conference that starts on a Friday, with a Jumat service and ends the following Thursday, with the AGM. We serve a full lunch every day to all delegates on the three active Conference days, (Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday). We give out top quality conference bags, with a jotter and a pen included. There is at least one plenary session per day, with at least five breakout sessions happening simultaneously, at least twice a day. We provide virtual Conference facilities, and the supporting multimedia and audio visual facilities at the Conference to ensure that virtual attendees have a seamless experience. We have a world class Exhibition Hall, the like of which you will find at international conferences like the International Bar Association conference. We run a Friendship Centre for the entire duration of the Conference, where Lawyers relax after the day’s sessions with daily entertainment. This year we are introducing for the first time, a Karaoke Lounge. We hold sports competitions.

Bear in mind that, our Conference is the largest annual gathering of Lawyers anywhere in the world. This year we

Cont'd on page VIII

“We run a Friendship Centre for the entire duration of the Conference, where Lawyers relax after the day’s sessions with daily entertainment“

Mazi Afam Osigwe, SAN

Mrs Oyinkansola Badejo-Okusanya

'Our Conference Will Focus on Sustainable Development'

'We Promise a ‘Best-Ever’ Conference'

2023 NBA-AGC: A Convergence of Ideas

'Our Conference Will Focus on Sustainable Development' – Cont'd from page VII

nual General Conference has always provided something for everyone, and this year will be no exception!

The Conference Planning Committee (CPC) is single-minded in its determination to successfully deliver on the task entrusted to it. At this point, you will be right to say that we are already dotting our Is and crossing our Ts. We have confirmed the readiness of Conference materials, like the bags. We have seen in times past, that this has always been a major problem. Learning from that, we have ensured we finalise arrangements on materials like this, so we do not have issues of inability to deliver during the Conference.

It is important at this point, to salute the enthusiasm our colleagues have towards the Conference, because having that number of persons register for the Conference tells you that there is readiness on their part to participate in the Conference, and the expectations are high. As a Committee whose membership comprises of persons who have, over time, displayed leadership capacity in different areas of our endeavour, I believe we have the capacity to deliver an exciting Conference. I

say this bearing in mind the fact that the level of preparation thus far has been successfully executed, because of the efforts put in by every member of the CPC.

The NBA is the largest professional body in Africa. Given ozur lead position, does your Committee have any plan to invite members of the Law Associations of some other African countries?

The Nigerian Bar Association prides itself in building strong and sustainable partnerships, with relevant law associations and professional bodies within and outside Africa. We sure do have plans, and we have extended an invitation to our sister law associations and professional bodies within and outside Africa. Bodies like the Cameroon Bar Association, International Bar Association, African Bar Association, American Bar Association, Nigerian Medial Association, inter alia, have been invited for this year’s Conference.

For the very first time in the history of the NBA, we are witnessing materials including bags being prepared and distributed to Conferees way ahead of time. How was this been achieved? Was

are preparing for 18,000 delegates, based on historical data. You and I know there is no existing purpose built conference facility in Nigeria, that can accommodate this number of conferees. So, for the last few years the NBA has had to build a Conference village, sometimes from scratch. In 2017, the Landmark Event Centre in Lagos was used, with marquees built around it and across the road. In 2021, the Conference village was built around the stadium in Port Harcourt, and last year the Conference village was built from scratch at Eko Atlantic City, Lagos. It was only the Opening Ceremony that was held at Eko Hotel. This year we are using the M.K.O Abiola National Stadium, and the expense involved in getting that venue conference ready and fit for purpose, is better imagined. Just as a sampler, imagine the cost of diesel required to power the conference venue for at least seven days. Juxtapose all I have said with Early bird conference fees as low as N7,500.00 for young Lawyers that meet the Continuing Legal Education (CLE) threshold, and N15,000.00 for those that don’t, and no higher than N40,000.00 for late registration or N60,000.00 for on-site registration, and you will begin to understand why I’m saying I would be surprised to hear that any young Lawyer is saying that the Conference fees are astronomical. The most that any young Lawyer will pay to attend the Conference is N60,000.00, and that is only if that young Lawyer decides at the very last minute to attend. If they choose to attend virtually, all they pay is N5,000. So, there is no cause to complain at all. I haven’t heard any complaints, and like I

said, I would be surprised to. As a matter of fact, if any Lawyers should be complaining, it is the more senior Lawyers, who have to pay much more to cushion the effects of the concession given to young Lawyers.

Regarding, hotel and transportation, the CPC has been intentional about helping to bring delegates’ hotel and transportation costs down, as much possible. We deliberately appointed three different logistics companies – Aishaba Logistics, Aura by Transcorp Hilton and NACO Logistics, to drive and keep down the cost. And, they are now competing to give delegates the best possible rates. We haven’t stopped there. We are still exploring other partnerships, all in a bid to ensure that delegates enjoy the benefit of volume discounts across board.

For those who would prefer to attend virtually, will they be entitled to conference bags and other conference materials? If so, how will they be able to access these materials?

There is no immediate plan to do that, no. But, if we have any bags left over after all registered physical delegates have collected their bags, we may discuss offering them to virtual delegates after the Conference on a first pay first served basis, at an additional fee to cover the cost of the bag and dispatch to the virtual attendee. But, this is something that is not yet on the table, and we will very likely only consider it when, or if the circumstances I referred to arise.

Kindly, share with us some of the side attractions that this year’s Conference has to offer, especially for the teeming young members of the Association

I am not sure I subscribe to this emphasis on young or younger members of the Bar. The NBA is for every Lawyer – young, not so young, the old, the elderly and Lawyers with

“The Nigerian Bar Association prides itself in building strong and sustainable partnerships, with relevant law associations and professional bodies within and outside Africa“

Mazi Afam Osigwe, SAN

Mrs Oyinkansola Badejo-Okusanya

'We Promise a ‘Best-Ever’ Conference' –Cont'd from page VII

Cont'd on page IX Cont'd on page

2023 NBA-AGC: A Convergence of Ideas

this method devised to avoid the fiasco of last year, where Conference materials were looted from the venue by Lawyers?

Issues around making sure that Conference materials are readily available ahead of Conference, I believe, are all a product of the level of preparation put into the Conference. The distribution of the bags ahead of the Conference, indicates how prepared the Committee is to ensure that the Conference is a huge success and a seamless one.

The members of the Committee understand the need to rewrite the history of the stress experienced by our members, while getting their conference materials. From our experience, we realised that beyond awarding the production contract, there was need to have a good follow-up system, which is what helped us to keep the contractors in check for them to deliver on time. With this development, we are now hopeful that issues like looting of Conference materials will not happen.

What is the level of involvement and participation of Government and policy makers in this Conference?

The reality of today’s Nigeria is that we cannot completely have the conversation around how well we have done as a country, and what is to be done without involving Government personnel and policy makers, to drive home these conversations on how far we have come as a country, and making projections for the future. It is in this light that we have decided to invite some Government personnel and policy makers, to also share their thoughts

on the conversations around the theme for this year’s Conference. We have also involved the Government agencies like the Police and relevant agencies to provide adequate security during the course of the Conference, as the importance of security cannot be overemphasised.

How will you ensure that the outcome of this Conference will not just be a mere talk shop, so that the outcomes will be impactful?

Our major concern during the Conference as a Committee, is to ensure that every Lawyer who registered to be a part of the Conference will definitely have an impactful experience. In achieving this, we have carefully ensured that the activities are tailored to develop our colleagues professionally. Beyond the conversations that will happen during the Conference, we are also determined to ensure that resolutions are reached and steps are taken to actualise them, by communicating same to relevant agencies.

We believe that the advocacy for good governance is one of the cardinal reasons why the Nigerian Bar Association exists, and as such, we will utilise the opportunity of the Conference to also live up to expectations in that regard.

We have also lined up social activities, that will give our colleagues the opportunity to ease off the stress of legal practice. In all, we are committed to making sure that this year’s Conference is impactful on our colleagues, and Nigeria at large.

disabilities, alike. The President of the NBA, Mr Y.C. Maikyau, OON, SAN, FCIArb, has made that very clear, and the CPC is following suit. So, some of our innovations have taken this into consideration. As you know, every year the NBA Conference also hosts football and golf competitions. This year we are introducing table tennis, which was first suggested by a senior member of the Bar, Mr Olusegun Fabunmi, SAN, himself an avid table tennis player. He has also offered to sponsor the table tennis tournaments, both male and female, for which we are very grateful.

The sports innovation I am most excited about though, is the Wheelchair table tennis, which we will be featuring for the very first time at any NBA Conference . This, as I said, is in furtherance of the NBA President’s deliberate intention for the NBA to be much more inclusive, and the CPC has been running with this vision. Equally exciting, is the fact that Google is partnering with the NBA Conference for the first time this year, and is sponsoring the Wheelchair Table tennis tournament. Google is also setting up an experiential booth to give Lawyers with disabilities the

opportunity to experience the latest accessibility products, services and features by Google with interactive displays and demonstrations. They will also conduct a digital skills training session, to teach attendees digital skills hands-on.

These are just a few of the exciting things we have planned for all, not just young, Conference delegates this year.

I must commend the efforts of all the active members of the CPC, for their sacrifice and dedication. They bring so much energy into the room, and their commitment is exemplary. We are also enjoying tremendous support from NBA Secretariat staff and the NBA National Officers. The Chair of the CPC, Mazi Afam Osigwe, SAN and I are fortunate to be working with such dedicated colleagues to midwife this Conference. We have promised a ‘Best-Ever’ Conference, and by God’s grace we will get it right, and we will deliver!

How many Continuous Legal Education Points would Conferees be entitled to from attending this Conference?

Certainly! Points are calculated at 1 CLE point for each hour of sessions attended. When the programme is finalised the number of CLE hours will be determined, and all registered delegates will get the points. It’s been a pleasure talking to, thank you.

Thank you both.

“We have promised a ‘Best-Ever’ Conference, and by God’s grace we will get it right, and we will deliver!"

Mazi Afam Osigwe, SAN Mrs Oyinkansola Badejo-Okusanya

'Our Conference Will Focus on Sustainable Development' – Cont'd from page VIII

'We

Promise a ‘Best-Ever’ Conference' – Cont'd from page VIII

Ethnic Nationalities and Emerging Challenges in Nigeria (Part 4)

Introduction

Historically, Nigeria has come a long way from multi-ethnic nationalities, with political differences and background to the present structure of thirtysix States. Ethnic nationality is without doubt, a political term mostly used in attempt to express the degree of similarities existing within a group or race, though it remains elusive. Today, we shall conclude our discourse on this vexed issue.

Reassessing the Ethnic Discourse and Suggestions on How to Manage the Emerging Challenges of Ethnic Nationalities in a Bid to Manage Nigeria

Start with yourself, it always works. Take part in meetings and parades promoting Nigerian, but not tribal unity. Meet friends from other cultures, marry a girl from the other tribe, and develop the idea of the difference between tribes as a positive idea. Tell your thoughts at the family reunion dinner, and share them with a friend. Do your best to introduce peace and equality, into your Nigerian culture. So, there is the problem of ethnic hatred. But, today, many people claim that this is not the hatred between people, but the hatred among politicians. That is why we proposed the best ways to solve ethnic problems, on the level of the political reformation. As you see, every person can contribute to solving this problem. Fortunately, Nigeria is a democratic country, at least formally, but ruled by its people, and if people do not want hatred, no other factors can influence it.

You personally can contribute to cultural integration. Become a volunteer, travel around Nigeria and promote your culture, tell its stories and present its history and unusual beliefs. You can also contribute to media and internet propaganda. Write posts about your own intercultural experience, and support groups and articles about ethnic integration and ways of solving the problems of ethnicity in Nigeria to overcome the problems of ethnicity in Nigeria, and reach the principal goal – national unity, it is necessary to unite people in as many aspects of life as it is possible.

However, here are five possible ways of solving the problems of ethnicity in Nigeria, that can unite the nation on the governmental and social level.

Economic Cooperation: It is necessary to provide the citizens with the universal system of goods, and unite regions depending on the natural resources. For example, the Edo supply the country with cocoa, but receive sugar cane from the Sokoto people. The same interaction can be introduced, in the other sectors of the economy.

Political and State Cooperation: The creation of common political parties, and the creation of road and railway transport connection between the lands of different ethnic groups must be taken into account. Besides, the Government itself has to start thinking, how can ethnic conflict be resolved,

and the Government has to be interested in solving the current problems of ethnicity. There must be representatives of all (and even minor) cultures in Parliament, to satisfy the interests of all people of Nigeria.

Youth Education: It is more difficult to influence the opinion of senior people who can still somehow (maybe because of personal reasons) support ethnic conflict in Nigeria, than to influence the formation of another worldview of the young people. The subject of intercultural interaction, must be included in the curriculum. Children have to attend the meetings, with the representatives of other Nigerian cultures. There, they can exchange the history of cultures, the cultural experience, beliefs, food recipes, cultural heritage, and traditions. Nothing stops aggression, discrimination, and hatred, better than broad worldview provided by education.

Secular Activities: The Organisation of national festivals, celebration, the introduction of traditional holidays and even religion, will contribute to the possible solutions to ethnic conflicts. It is not easy to change or modify ethnic habits, but it is indispensable

to do the best to find common traits in all cultures, and assure people that they have to find a compromise and accept changes, in favour of Nigeria's unity.

Inter-tribal Marriage: The encouraging of intercultural marriage on the governmental level, will surely solve the problems of ethnicity. Intercultural tribes can be supported financially, and officially congratulated to show respect to people who contribute to the creation of a united Nigerian nation. Summarily, while ethnic competition theory does help to highlight some facets of Nigeria’s developmental challenges, not least the ‘unwholesome’ roles played by some political, cultural and civic leaders, there is certainly the need to go beyond an ethnic model of analysis and focus on the ‘emancipatory’ significance of struggles occurring in certain sections of a multi-ethnic society. I believe that despite the overwhelming historical evidence of battles by ‘ordinary’ Africans against oppressors (such as slave traders, missionaries, coloniser’s, homegrown dictators, and foreign imperialists), some analysts still find it difficult to ‘accord’ the status of democratic struggles to such efforts. What could be more ‘emancipatory’ and ‘civic’ than a striving by ordinary people ‘for access, fairness, equal opportunity, political expression and participation in the collective enterprise of a political community’? Also, on the issue of excessive reliance on ethnicity as an ‘explanation’ for African conflicts, I will again opine that, ‘the interest which appropriates and privatises State power wears the ethnic mask, which is what distracts us from seeing that what is being opposed is not ethnicity, but something else which is hiding behind ethnicity’. The seeming ethnic

opposition from grassroots groups is conjectural and deceptive because it is constituted, not by ethnics wanting to oppose holders of State power, but by holders of State power trying to conceal injustices and undemocratic tendencies. In the case of Oloibiri, Ebubu and Iko, grassroots narratives fundamentally reveal that it is the State, petroleum companies and local political representatives – and not necessarily the ‘other ethnic groups’, who appropriate the ‘lion’s share’ of Nigeria’s petroleum resources – that must reassess their relationships with ordinary people.

Bearing in mind that, the key policy challenge is to look beyond the activities of ethnic and political entrepreneurs, who sometimes deliberately or unwittingly help to transform immanent, ‘passive’ contradictions in a society, into ‘active’ tensions and conflicts. There is also a need to understand the infrastructure of social oppression, that such struggles have the potential of revealing. This is because struggles often hastily labelled ‘tribal’, ‘sectional’ or ‘ethnic’, could very well be ‘emancipatory’ struggles aiming to make social justice a reality in politics and governance in a given country.

Conclusion

From the foregoing analysis, it has been established that in trying to understand or explain the worsening orgy of violence and militarisation in the Niger Delta, a somewhat excessive emphasis seems to have been paid to the issue of Nigeria’s ethnic diversity and ethnic competition. While analysts have not entirely ignored the fact that grassroots struggles (even frequent eruptions of lawlessness) in the region transcend particularistic, ethnic concerns, there has been a tendency to treat such transcendence as merely ‘tangential’ to ‘the more fundamental’ issue of ethnicity.

What has also been shown, especially from the ethnographic data reported in the previous section, is that a focus on the lived experiences and everyday narratives of ordinary men and women in specific oil-producing communities, rather than on organisations acting ‘on their behalf‘, makes it easier to apprehend the true social character of, or at least the complex tapestry of forces shaping, such struggles. This obviously echoes Idemudia and Ite’s call for an ‘integrated explanation’ of the Niger Delta conflict. As Ake has argued, an ethnic reading of local struggles might cast such struggles as primitive, uncivil and retrogressive, but ‘it does not eradicate their democratic significance’. While not denying the fact that under particular conditions ethnic diversity could give expressions to civic tensions, one must agree that conflict is not necessarily the defining fabric of ethnic groups, as ethnic groups are no different from other social groupings.

Conclusively, one major lesson that can be drawn from all of this is that, under certain conditions – such as conditions of large-scale and prolonged social justice deficits – so-called ‘sectionally-based’ struggles could help to define for a ‘deprived’ region and for the wider society, a more socially sensitive development and democratisation trajectory. In other words, it is only through a rigorous interrogation of the lived worlds, narratives and discontents of people on the ground, that it will become clear what the authentic drivers of ‘sectionally-based’ struggles are. It is diversionary simply to closet such struggles, in the dominant (essentialist) narratives. (The End)

THOUGHTS FOR THE WEEK

“Federalism should be able to maintain unity among all. But, this does not mean that we should boycott regional voices and the voices of ethnic groups”. (Khil Raj Regmi)

“Today different ethnic groups and different nations come together, due to common sense”.

(Dalai Lama)

“While not denying the fact that under particular conditions ethnic diversity could give expressions to civic tensions, one must agree that conflict is not necessarily the defining fabric of ethnic groups, as ethnic groups are no different from other social groupings”

L-R: Sales representative, Mango Women’s Wear, Favour Unadike; Manager, Ngozi Okike; sales representative, Peace Achogba; Cashier, Chioma Nnabude; Assistant Manager, Sandra Eboh; and sales representative, Benjamin Awaritefe, during the seventh anniversary of Mango Women’s Wear held at Jabi Lake Mall, Abuja… recently

National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) member, Michael Evelyn Tiffa (left); Katsina State Coordinator of NYSC, Mrs. Aishat Mohammad (second left); and corps member, Ologbonyo Emmanuel Sunday (right), presenting a souvenir to the Director-General of NYSC, Brigadier General Yusha’u Dogara Ahmed (third right), during DG’s visit to NYSC Katsina State Orientation Camp in Katsina…recently

Osun State Governor, Senator Ademola Adeleke; his brother, Dr. Deji Adeleke; and Speaker, state House of Assembly, Rt. Hon Adewale Egbedun, during the wedding ceremony of Veronica Ababio and Olamide Etti, held at the Riverside water, Lekki, Lagos…recently

SB Events Magazine, Mr. Ojo-Isaac Olusola; daughter of the award recipient, Miss Chifumnaya Nzekwe; award recipient’s wife, Mrs. Ebele Nzekwe; and Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of Citadel Oil and Gas Limited, Chief Jonathan Nzekwe, as he received the Efficiency Award for Excellence as Businessman of the Year, by SB Events Magazine in Lagos…recently

L-R: Personal Assistant to the president of Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN), Osamudiamen Umwen; Assistant Manager, Quality, Bond Chemical, Awe, Oyo State, Mr. Olushola Ajayi; National Sales Manager, Mr. Oladepo Makinde; Managing Director, Bond Chemical, Mr. Aderemi Omotosho; President, PSN, Prof. Cyril Usifo; General Manager, Mr. Clement Adeboye; and National Marketing Manager, Mr. Andrew Aina, when the leadership of PSN paid a working visit to Bond Chemical in Awe, Oyo State…recently

L-R:

L-R: Publisher,

PHOTO: ETOP UKUTT

Former Minister of Sport, Alhaji Bolaji Abdullahi(right), and his son, Amir Abdullahi (left), who got the highest achievement award in Computer Science from Cambridge O Level examinations conducted in November 2022, during the British Council Recognition and Outstanding Cambridge Learner Awards (BROCLA) 2023 in Lagos…recently

PHOTO: ABIODUN AJALA

Inoyo’s Life of Lessons PERSPECTIVE

By Udeme Nana

The other day, security Agencies in Nigeria reportedly ordered the destruction of a ship laden with stolen crude oil and news credited to the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) have it that an average of 437,000 barrels of crude oil is stolen in Nigeria daily! This mindless stealing, one understands, has been the way of life for many super-rich Nigerians in the oil sector and their foreign collaborators. However, one former oil company executive, Udom Inoyo, often beats his chest confidently to declare that he was spotless throughout his 32 years of work in ExxonMobil, a key player in the oil sector in Nigeria. Mr. Inoyo served as the Executive Vice Chairman of Exxon Mobil Companies in Nigeria before his retirement a few years ago. What a pleasant and comforting statistics. It is also a lesson that even though corruption seems to walk on all fours in Nigeria and almost all the who is who in the country have oily fingers, having dipped them into the slimy black gold illegally, there are exceptions. One clean man or woman in the right place can, indeed, save a society enmeshed in the thick of corrupt practices.

Mr. Inoyo who turns 64 on Wednesday, 19th July, wasn’t the only employee of the company hired from Akwa Ibom State, the operational base of Exxon Mobil. However, built tall and straight, like successful basketball stars, he could have been the tallest in height among his peers in the employment of the corporate organization. But he could not have been sponsored into that employment by a corporate chieftain or a political godfather at the time he joined the company in *1989*. This owes to the very stringent entry-level standards adopted by such companies in recruitment of staff. He braved it all from the status of a young middle executive and attained the zenith as the Executive Vice Chairman of the organization in Nigeria. This was made possible by his combination of hard work, integrity, and discipline. While in the company, he carefully imbibed the corporate culture and was accountable round the clock. Infact, he fits the definition of a thorough - bred servant of the company for which he devoted most of his productive years.

On retirement, he could have chosen to live in any part of the world, travel around the globe and play golf; a game he loves so much, however, to the surprise of many, and in a display of selflessness, he presented himself for consideration as a Governorship aspirant of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Akwa Ibom State. After going through the usual gambits of consultations of party chieftains, stakeholders, and professional associations, which found him to be a deep thinker and articulate Keynote Speaker lined up speaking engagements for him. True to their expectations, he never disappointed. Neither did he defer the hope of the needy who flocked to him for support. He treated such indigent persons respectfully, didn’t make a public show of his kindness and in reaching out to such a segment, did not denigrate their dignity in the quality, quantity or manner of liaison with them. Nevertheless, when the time of decision arrived, political prophets and those who held the levers of power, allocating such powers authoritatively, shunned him by declaring that ‘god’ had spoken to them and he wasn’t the “anointed” or ‘preferred’ choice of “God”. Mr. Inoyo shrugged off that incident and jetted out - back to school - in pursuit of personal development. A man who loves learning so he can adapt to new situations and grapple

Inoyo

intelligently with circumstances, it is this commitment to learning and regular sharpening of one’s skill sets and his Angel - spirit that made him to sponsor a Tech Week for youths in ICT in Akwa Ibom where several young techies excelled and were exposed for further mentorship. Mr. Inoyo sponsored the first ever Akwa Ibom Tech Week in 2021 with events in Oron, Eket, Ikot Ekpene and Uyo. The grand finale had Akwa Ibom people doing well in the ICT industry internationally *attending* the event as guest speakers. Some of them were Otto Abasi Williams, Senior Vice President at Visa, Aniedi Udo-Obong, Google and Usoro Anthony of MTN. That event promoted indigenous innovations from the state to investors. The winners of the pitch competition got cash prizes and free mentorship for 3 months by industry leaders.

Besides an inclination to show up for disadvantaged groups in the society like teachers which his community service Foundation, Inoyo Toro Foundation has doled out over 400 million naira in prizes to Teachers and mentorship of students across Akwa Ibom State in the past 15 years, Mr. Inoyo reached out to honour the legacy of one of the world’ s living foremost journalists; Ray Ekpu with the endowment of the Ray Ekpu prize in Investigative Journalism in the sum of N500,000 annually. The yearly Award, administered by a cream of Journalists headed by Nsikak Essien, former Editor of National Concord Newspaper, has produced winners in the past two years, and the endowment is in perpetuity. That award has served to celebrate Ray Ekpu as a role model, a trailblazer, an uncommon Ambassador and an excellent professional from his state of origin. That prize money is the biggest single purse so far in the State and, indeed, the South South axis of Nigeria presently. Mr. Inoyo, in taking a decision to honour Ray Ekpu, may have been influenced by the fact that both of them, at different eras left their state, then in the back waters of Nigeria and made their way to the topmost heights in different sectors of life in the world without blemish.

His boundless passion for education fired him to mobilize support for funding of the establishment of the International Centre for Energy and Environmental Sustainability Research, ICEESR, at the University of Uyo.

A lover of Books, he featured at the 2021 World Book Day to read from the Book ‘The Tipping point’ by Malcolm Gladwell and that inspired a cross - section of students who gathered to participate at the Event in Uyo.

Through its flagship program, Inoyo Toro Foundation, which he set up, has consistently anchored rewards for hundreds of teachers, mentorship for thousands of teachers and infrastructure intervention (Adopt-a-school) for several schools since the establishment of the Foundation in 2007.

In partnership with Stanbic IBTC Bank, that Foundation procured and donated the complete set of Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) facilities to Akwa Ibom State to save lives in the heat of COVID 19. He leveraged his international network and tremendous goodwill to ensure the facilities arrived in Nigeria at a time international travels were restricted and export of PCR machines were disallowed. The facilities were located at the Specialist Hospital in Akwa Ibom, making it Nigeria’s only state government running two PCR facilities at the time.

As Coordinator, Coalition of Akwa Ibom Professionals in Lagos (CAKPIL), he mobilized CAKPIL to provide medical consumables to Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) in AKS during COVID-19 epidemic.

He sponsored highly specialized capacity building workshops for Akwa Ibom lawyers through the Nigerian Bar Associations in Uyo, Ikot Ekpene, Eket, Oron branches and in the aftermath of ENDSARS Protests in Nigeria, instituted a Coalition of Lawyers to offer free legal services to victims of police brutality during the protests in Akwa Ibom State.

Mr. Inoyo played a critical role towards the settlement of the obnoxious onshore - offshore oil dichotomy in the days of Obong Victor Attah as Governor. He encouraged many Akwa Ibom people in the

corporate world and business. One of such beneficiaries of his gesture in this direction, Charles Udonwa, Chairman, Norfin Offshore Shipyard Limited once said, “There would have been no Norfin Shipyard in Akwa Ibom without Udom Inoyo”. Mr. Inoyo attracted the first electrification project and the first tarred road project in his community.

He established an employment/empowerment network in his home community, leading to several people from the community getting employment and empowered for vocations and businesses.

He played a front line role in the establishment of ‘UFOK’, a union of AkwaCross employees in ExxonMobil, which started to stimulate awareness and push for the engagement of several Akwa Ibom and Cross River folks in ExxonMobil. This contributed towards a situation where 35% of all employees of ExxonMobil were Akwa Ibom indigenes. Those are some sample lessons in community service by a private citizen who wasn’t in government or politics. His interventions provided an example in community mindedness.

Several other lessons, which the trajectory of Udom Inoyo teaches, include the need for travellers in life to ‘stay on their own lane’. Interactions with him also taught one “to engage with others using one’s strengths and not with the strengths of the competition’ If he were to explain that in the Sunday School classes which he taught at First Baptist Church at Lagos, he would have cited the example of David and Goliath and he would have stressed that David was an expert slinger unlike Goliath. With Udom Inoyo, every project *requires* careful thought, deliberate analysis, a clear plan of action, delivery timelines, accountability and feedback. He is a damn good listener, believes in reasoning, sharing of ideas, seeking out the opinions of others and showing respect for superior arguments by acceptance of such well articulated stances. His ‘I don’t know it all’ attitude starkly shows his humility, which his physical height and the corporate status he attained sought to hide from people. In all his engagements, he tries to lift others up to the level of his own height.

Mr. Inoyo life further provides lessons in leading a principle centered life anchored on positive values and to show respect, even to subordinates. He teaches the need to recognize that subordinates have a mind of their own and so must not be shut out or asphyxiated. He believes that subordinates must be allowed to also breathe.

In a society where elites and the more privileged tend to be apologetic for their well earned successes in life, Mr. Inoyo would have none of that; “don’t be apologetic about your Pedigree, your well earned status in life and your circle of friends” he would say. According to him, the heights, which most great achievers have attained are like climbers on mountain tops, it took a strenuous effort, carefulness, focus, discipline, so why apologize when you get to the summit? Why should *Lionel Messi* or Cristiano Ronaldo be apologetic about their elitist credentials?

At first sight, Mr. Udom Inoyo’s tall height, serious mien and accomplishments emit signals of unapproachability but a close interaction reveals that he is just like the guy next door; he is human, humane too and often impacted by the same emotions which break every other human being.

Happy 64th birthday, Udom Uko Inoyo, a great Patrician and non-political statesman.

Dr. Udeme Nana is the founder of Uyo Book Club.

‘Young Entrepreneurs Will Generate Jobs to Rescue Nigerians from Poverty’

Okon Bassey in Uyo

Wife of the Akwa Ibom State Governor, Mrs. Patience Umo Eno, has said youth entrepreneurs have the capacity to generate millions of jobs required to rescue Nigerians from poverty.

Speaking in Uyo, during the 2023 World Youth Skills Day, Mrs. Eno advocated the need to support young entrepreneurs in the country.

The 2023 World Youth Skills Day had as its theme: “Youth and Entrepreneurial Skills in our Society: Pricing, Book Keeping and Branding”.

Eno, who stated that fostering the growth of young entrepreneurs was possible through democratising job creation, explained that government alone cannot create the needed jobs.

“Entrepreneurship is a fundamental component of economic empowerment and job creation which plays a pivotal role in addressing poverty.

“Therefore, youth entrepreneurship does not only unlock the

economic potentials of young people, it fosters their essential skills and abilities needed for future of sustainable growth. Young individuals will also generate personal income and create foster job opportunities for others.

“It is evident that government employment alone cannot completely address the issue of unemployment; hence, we must democratise job creation and the most effective approach to accomplishing this is by fostering the growth of entrepreneurs and equipping them with the necessary tools needed to succeed, thereby generating the millions of jobs required to rescue our people from poverty.

“Governor Umo Eno under his ARISE Agenda is committed to encourage young people to pursue entrepreneurial ventures. The ARISE agenda will offer different layers of opportunities and boost their capacity,” she stated.

Also speaking, the Deputy Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Senator Akon Eyakenyi, said youths

must be equipped to take over the reins of development and growth from the older generation, adding that any society that does not look into the younger generation that would take over from them was not preparing for the future.

Eyakenyi, urged youths to be willing to start little in their entrepreneurship journey and grow

Ahmad Sorondinki in Kano

The National Senior Secondary Education Commission (NSSEC) has vowed to tackle mass failure in Mathematic and English language courses in senior secondary schools across the country.

The Executive Secretary of the Commission, Dr. Iyela Ajayi, disclosed this during a five- day capacity building training programme for selected English

it

to something big, adding that the theme for the event was apt.

She explained that the administration of Umo Eno was interested in what happens to the youths in the state, saying the State government was ready to support positive development.

Also speaking, the State Coordinator, Akwa Ibom Christians Youths,

NSSEC to Tackle Failure

and Mathematics teachers in Senior secondary schools within the North West Zone.

He said, the goal of the training was to build the capacity of teachers of Mathematics and English language with modern skills so as to impart the needed knowledge on the students with the aim of ensuring that they passed the subjects during their final examinations in secondary schools across the nation.

Ajayi, noted that as part of the

Mr. Ubong Ituen, said the lecture exposed the prerequisite needed to excel in life.

“We are happy for the lecture. These are the things we need in life to excel. Most of us are entrepreneurs but what we have learnt today is what we don’t know.

“I want to assure you that as we leave here, our businesses

will scale to the next level. We are hardworking youths and we will take Akwa Ibom to the next level,” he stated.

While the resource persons at the programme, Ms. Mmanti Umoh spoke on branding; Mrs. Itoro Akpama spoke on book keeping, and Mr. Aniekan Edet spoke on pricing.

in Mathematic, English

commission’s mandate was to ensure minimum standard in Senior Secondary Schools, developed a Teaching Manual for Mathematics and English Language teachers to enhance their methodology/ pedagogical skills in the two core subjects.

He added that the National Senior Secondary Education Commission was dedicated to ensure quality education delivery with best global practices.

In his remark, the Kano State Commissioner of Education, Alhaji Umar Haruna Doguwa, represented by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Hajiya Kubra Imam, said the capacity building training was very timely. He maintained that Kano State Government was accorded much priority to the educational sector ,geared towards having a bright future for the students, who are future leaders of tomorrow.

The Letter Killeth: Pure Religious Bunkum!

Have you ever had a discussion with a religious person (there is a difference between a religious person and a Godly person) about a scriptural matter, by confronting him or her with a Scripture that contradicts their dogma (belief of their denomination) and when they could not sufficiently explain the clash between their dogma and the Scriptures, they pull out their joker: The letter killeth?

I have—countless of times. You see, I am used to religionists. They can use the holy Scriptures to justify their dogma. Still, when their dogma does not conform to Scriptural standards, they then go Uber spiritual and claim a divine mandate that you cannot understand because you are so carnal and legalistic that the letter has trapped you.

But from where does this ‘the letter killeth’ stuff come from?

People who pull that trump card are relying on 2 Corinthians 3:6, which in the King James Version says:

“Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for THE LETTER KILLETH, but the spirit giveth life.”

Now, that word ‘letter’ is quite confusing when you read it in English, and religionists count on that ambiguity to disarm you when you have caught them out in hypocrisy.

This is why I encourage all believers in Yeshua the Messiah (Yeshua Hamashiach), who is also known as Christ, to do what the Muslims do, and read Scripture in its original languages.

I do it. It is not as hard as you think.

In any case, in that verse, 2 Corinthians 3:6, when read in the original Greek, the word “letter” is written as ypàμμa, which when romanised is gramma, which literally means what is written down using alphabets. It is the root word of the English word grammar.

That verse, 2 Corinthians 3:6, is not saying that we should discard the written word or grammar of Scripture; what it is actually saying is that we should also look behind the Spirit's intent in inspiring those words.

And we see a perfect example in Matthew 19:8. That verse says:

“Jesus replied, "Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because your hearts were hard. But it was not this way from the beginning.” (NIV).

Now, here, clearly, Christ is saying that the physical written alphabets of the law, when put in grammar form, does allow divorce in Deuteronomy 24:1-4.

However, that law came about because of the wickedness of mankind, which Christ describes as ‘hard heartedness’, and that the initial intention of the Spirit from the beginning of creation was that marriage was to last a lifetime.

So, whilst a man is legally allowed to divorce his wife, it is better if he does not divorce her. In this instance, abiding by the strict letters of the law will kill the marriage. However, if you allow yourself to be led by the Spirit and forgive your wife of whatever sin she may or may not have committed, you give life to the marriage.

What this verse, 2 Corinthians 3:6, is saying is that the harsh penalties of the Law of Moses, were given by God, not because that was His original intent, but because of the attitude of the nation of Israel AT THAT TIME. Their hearts had become ‘hard’.

Why? Because they were coming out of Egypt where they had lived for 430 years.

In that time, they had been acculturated to the Egyptian lifestyle of polytheism (belief in many gods), reincarnation, temple prostitution of both male and females as part of religious practice, the worship of the bull, ibis, and other animals, etc, as well as other habits that were downright evil.

And because of these, they had become wicked people. And what does Scripture say about wickedness?

Proverbs 28:2 says:

“When a country is rebellious, it has MANY rulers, but a ruler with discernment and knowledge maintains order.” (NIV).

It was the rebellious nature of their hearts that made God give the ancient Israelites many laws.

It is just like a man living a lawless nation, like Somalia, and going to America. For the first few years, he will experience a culture shock. Unlike Somalian women, American women will not kowtow to him. American children do not bow to him. He cannot drive against traffic when he is frustrated by the long time spent in gridlock. And he cannot practice adultery.

American historians will tell you that the origins of many of their laws was to check the behaviour of immigrants to America, whose lifestyles contradicted the American way of life.

For instance, polygamy was not illegal in America until July of 1862. Prior to then, the United States did not feel the

need to make polygamy illegal, because it was not in their way of life.

But why did America pas the Morrill Anti-Bigamy Act? Because in the 1830s, a new religion called Mormonism was introduced into America by a man named Joseph Smith, which allowed polygamy.

So you see, without Mormonism, the Morrill Anti-Bigamy Act would not have been passed in 1862. The law was passed because of what was seen as the wickedness in certain people.

So, that was why the law was given to Moses. Because the Holy Spirit had not been given to the ancient Israelites when they left Egypt. They were not born again of water and the Spirit. They were not “a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new”.

They were as wicked as they were when they were still in Egypt, and Moses was afraid of them. Aaron was afraid of them. They could kill both of them at anytime. These were the dregs of Egyptian society. They were the bottom class. Uneducated, uncouth, with a strong tendency to crime.

In Egypt, they were in the habit of fighting each other-Exodus 2:13. They betrayed each other-Exodus 2:14. These were not nice people to be amongst.

So, when you read 2 Corinthians 3:6, that the letter killeth, that is what it is referring to. It is saying that most of those Mosaic laws were not meant to be permanent. The 10 Commandments Laws like the

laws regarding the Sabbath Day, and the law against idols, and honouring God and parents, are obviously everlasting. That is why the 10 Commandments were given as a set of stand-alone laws.

However, laws like the stoning to death of a disobedient child-Deuteronomy 21:21, the stoning to death of a non virgin brideDeuteronomy 22:21, and other such eye for eye, tooth for tooth laws, were not meant to be forever.

That is why Moses told the ancient Israelites as follows in Deuteronomy 18:15:

“The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your fellow Israelites. You must listen to him.” (NIV)

Moses was the only law giving prophet. Other prophets after him only prophesied the future, or reinterpreted Moses’s laws. They did not make new laws.

The use of the term “a prophet like me”, meant that another prophet would come and give a new law, that will make the Mosaic Laws obsolete (those of you who attack Muslims for calling Christ a prophet can now see that even Moses called Him a prophet. He is a Prophet and a Son, and we ought to be more understanding to Muslims).

It is this prophesy that made Christ say:

“A NEW COMMAND I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.”-John 13:34.

That is the new law that the coming Prophet (who is also God’s Son), was meant to bring according to Moses’s Deuteronomy 18:15 prophesy.

This is why Romans 13:10 says “Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law”.

What 2 Corinthians 3:6 means, by saying “the letter killeth”, is that any Mosaic Law that leads to death has been cancelled by Christ’s “new commandment” of John 13:34.

What 2 Corinthians 3:6 does NOT mean is that the Spirit of God has given any Christ follower, or any Christian denomination, a special dispensation, or understanding of Scripture, that is different from what is written plainly and unambiguously, and does not lead to death.

We know this, because Scripture foresaw such abuse of 2 Corinthians 3:6, and said in 2 Peter 1:20 that:

“No prophecy of the scripture is of any PRIVATE INTERPRETATION.”

What this means is that if Scripture says something, it means it, and nobody can give you another meaning to it because ‘the Holy Spirit’ told me so.

In fact, if you read 2 Corinthians 3:6 in the Amplified Version, it will tell you that the word ‘letter’, which kills is not referring to all the written word of Scripture, but refers only and specifically to the Laws of Moses. That verse in the Amplified version, reads:

“He has qualified us [making us sufficient] as ministers of a new covenant [of salvation through Christ], not of the letter [of a written code] but of the Spirit; for the letter [of the Law] kills [by revealing sin and demanding obedience], but the Spirit gives life.”

Reno Omokri Gospeller. Deep Thinker. #1 Bestselling author of Facts Versus Fiction: The True Story of the Jonathan Years. Avid traveller. Hollywood Magazine Film Festival Humanitarian of the Year, 2019.

Reno

You have the power to summon a stronger positive thought into your mind whenever a negative thought attempts to break into your mind

The Holy Bible

Sahara's Tripartite Commitment to Promoting Environmental Sustainability

in Lagos

In demonstrating its commitment to the tripartite partnership with LSETF And Wecyclers in promoting environmental sustainability in Lagos, the Sahara Group Foundation recently launched its third Recycling Hub in Lagos Island under its Go-Recycling Project, Precious Ugwuzor reports

Sahara Group Foundation in partnership with Lagos State Employment Trust Fund, LSETF, and Wecyclers has launched the third of the 12 recycling hubs under its Go-Recycling project to be rolled out across several local government areas in Lagos.

The new recycling hub which is situated in the Lagos Island Local Government Area is yet another demonstration of the tripartite partnership commitment to promoting environmental sustainability in Lagos, as well as supporting community development and the empowerment of Lagosians.

The recycling hub which would help support environmental and economic development of Lagos Island LGA and its neighbouring communities, will also help to create awareness about recycling and its benefits, as well as create job opportunities for residents.

Speaking at the launch ceremony, Ejiro Gray, Director, Sahara Group Foundation said, "We are excited to expand our Go-Recycling initiative to Lagos Island with the launch of this recycling exchange hub. At Sahara Group Foundation, we are committed to impacting lives and livelihoods across communities and with the presence of this recycling hub in Lagos Island, it is our hope that this would help inspire individuals, families, and businesses to come together to make a positive impact on the environment, as well as turn their waste to value by embracing recycling as a lifestyle”.

Also speaking at the event, the Vice Chairman, Lagos Island Local Government Area, Prince Mohammed Rosul Eshinlokun, applauded the Go-recycling initiative and thanked Sahara Group Foundation, LSETF, and Wecyclers for bringing this initiative to Lagos Island.

He stated that the challenges caused by waste pollution are evident in our communities; and that initiatives such as the Go-recycling project will help create awareness about effective waste management practices. He further encouraged the people of Lagos Island to engage with the hub and take advantage of the ‘waste to wealth’ model the project offers.

The Go-Recycling project, which was launched in 2023 was established to help address the issue of plastic pollution in Lagos state and motivate a movement of environmentally conscious Lagosians. With the opening of the Lagos Island Go-Recycling hub, residents of the community and neighbouring areas can now engage in effective waste management and earn gainfully while doing so.

In her remarks to guests at the event, Sheila Ojei, the Director of Strategy, Funding and Stakeholder Management, Lagos State Employment Trust Fund, said, “The launch of this

recycling hub reinforces LSETF’s commitment to providing Lagosians with an opportunity to earn while contributing to a sustainable Lagos.

She encouraged members of the community to play their part in promoting a cleaner, healthier, and greener Lagos for today and future generations by choosing to recycle today.”

During her speech, the Human Resources and Partnership Manager, Wecyclers, Esther Chibueyin Fagbo, called on the residents to engage with the hub because it has the potential to transform their lives. She stated that “the adoption of recycling and the exchange of recyclable materials for reward is guaranteed to impact the community positively.”

Fagbo thanked Sahara Group Foundation

and LSETF for bringing the Go-recycling project to live in Lagos and assured residents that the initiative will support their growth.

With the successful launch of the Lagos Island Go-Recycling hub, the hub is now open to serve as a centralised collection point for various recyclable materials such as plastics, papers, cartons, among others to all members of the area as well as neighbouring communities.

Sahara Group Foundation is fully committed to building sustainable societies and through projects like this, we are helping to support the actualization of the United Nations sustainable development goals which focuses on making cities and communities inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable.

NSIP Impact: How CCT Helps Kyauta Sustain Orphaned Grandchildren

Adamu Sani

Established in 2016 by the Buhariled Administration, the Social Investment (NSIP) programme was created to address immediate and long-term socio-economic imbalance, inequalities, alleviate poverty and stimulate accelerated economic growth.

This can be attested to by the millions of beneficiaries of the various empowerment programmes under the NSIP, such as the Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) and the N-Power as testimonies abound on how the intervention programmes impacted positively and changed the lives of the beneficiaries by transforming their despair and hopelessness to economic stability and prosperity.

Malama Kyauta Uba Dangauro is one of the millions of beneficiaries of the Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) empowerment programme of the SIP. She shares her experience on how the empowerment programme rekindled hope restored confidence in her to be able to cater for her seven orphaned grandchildren through petty trading.

Looking more confident with renewed hope and vision, Kyauta Uba narrates how CCT rekindled her hope and wiped away her tears since the loss of her breadwinner to the cold hands of death.

According to her, her first receipt of the CCT came on the eve of the death of her hardworking and obedient son who fathered seven children. In an emotion

laden voice, Kyauta recalled, “At the time I received the N20,000.00 CCT intervention, that was the time my son died and left behind seven children that I must cater for being their grandmother.

"There was nothing horrific that we didn’t see during that time; sometimes , we slept under the rain at night due to leakages of the roof of our room.”

She recalled that when her first CCT intervention came, she lived in Tarauni in metropolitan Kano, but now she lives in Dangauro a suburb of Dawakin Kudu local govermment on the outskirts of Kano metropolis.

In a cheerful mood, Kyauta explained how the first N20,000 empowerment fund changed her life from misery to prosperity.

According to her, "that N20,000 that was given to me has really brought a huge relief to me, because I can only thank Allah for the intervention and ask for more blessings from Him. This is because when I received the cash, I engaged in frying coconut and tiger nuts which I used to supply to petty traders to sell in their shops. To my utter surprise, the money keeps multiplying and as we speak, I still fry the coconuts and tiger nuts.

"However, as you know life is no longer the same for me since the

death of my son which coincided with my first receipt of the CCT empowerment He left behind seven children. Immediately after his death, his young wife was taken away by her parents who eventually married her off to another man. This necessitated the return of the seven children to me to take care and cater for them.

"I thank Allah; I have been taking care of them with the support of their uncle whose financial base is also weak. However, there is nothing that I can say except to thank Allah because I no longer live-in rented apartment/house," Kyauta revealed in nostalgic tears of sorrow and that of happiness, joy and relief now., thanks to the CCT empowerment intervention of the NIPS.

"You can see, the oldest of my grandchildren, a female, is about to finish her secondary school and her young ones are following her in that order," Kyauta revealed, adding that "I equally have no parents to cater for me except my children, and the father of the orphans was a very obedient child, hardworking and pillar of my life when he was alive." The happy grandmother of seven orphans further revealed that the CCT intervention also saw to the engagement of her eldest granddaughter who helps her in the business of frying coconut and tiger nuts. She noted that "the eldest daughter has been helpful to me, because I'm diabetic and also have some heart health challenges, but I'm struggling to see to the growth and success of my grandchildren.”

Thanks to the CCT intervention, she added.

Expressing her appreciation the CCT empowerment, Kyauta said: "I'm grateful to the leadership of President Muhammadu Buhari. I’m grateful to this servant of God, Honourable Minister Humanitarian Affairs, Hajiya Sadiya who provided intervention to us.”

From the foregoing, the impact of the NSIP on the lives and livelihood‹ of millions of Nigerians cannot be quantified, as multiples of her type who directly need help and rarely got the help have it now. Many have reasons to smile as the lives changing intervention of the Buhari administration keeps lifting people out of abject poverty, despair and hopelessness to a better life.

From the testimony of Malama Kyauta, the CCT intervention has turned her into a self-reliant and also liberated her from rented apartment to own her own house. serving as a means of sustenance for her and her seven orphaned grandchildren as well as inculcate the spirit of self-reliance in her oldest granddaughter who ultimately will serve as the compass of her young ones. As enunciated above the impact of the CCT on the life of Kvauta goes beyond her expectations, as the intervention also impacts on the grandchildren whose lives have turned positive as they look into the future with hope, vigor and determination to succeed.

-Sani, a public affairs analyst wrote from Kano.

L-R: Adejoke Are, Special Adviser to the Chairperson, LSETF; Prince Mohammed Rosul Eshinlokun, Vice Chairman, Lagos-Island LGA; Ejiro Gray, Director, Sahara Group Foundation, and Esther Chibueyin Fagbo, Human Resources and Partnership Manager, Wecyclers, at the GoRecycling Hub Launch, held at Lagos-Island LGA, Lagos.

Nigeria’s Oil Production Declined by 94.5m Barrels in H1, 2023

Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja

Nigeria’s total oil production shortfall hit 94.5 million barrels in the first half of 2023, according to a THISDAY analysis of latest data from the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC).

In monetary terms, the output slump would be an estimated gross revenue loss of $7.1 billion, at an average oil price of $75 per barrel during the period between January to June this year.

The significant output shrinkage which is below the target set for the country by the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in the first six months of 2023, also led to a production of just about 57 per cent of total projected output during the period.

The review indicated that whereas the country was expected to drill an estimated 313.56 million barrels during the period, given a 1.742 million daily OPEC production quota, it only managed to produce 219 million

barrels. This left the country with an estimated 94.5 million barrels deficit.

It also meant that the nation was unable to produce up to 43 per cent of OPEC’s output forecast for the period, a continuation of the production shortfall, which became pronounced since mid 2020 in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Nigeria is at the moment, desperately in need of foreign exchange as currently reflected in the weakening value of the

naira to the dollar and inability of foreign investors, especially airlines to repatriate funds to their countries of origin.

A few weeks ago, OPEC slashed Nigeria’s production baseline to 1.38 million barrels per day for 2024 due to the prolonged inability of the country to consistently meet its quota for the commodity. Nigeria gets over 90 per cent of its foreign exchange earnings from the export of the commodity.

But according to the NUPRC data, in all, out of the over 52.26

million barrels expected monthly volume of oil output, the country’s production was 39 million barrels in January, 36.5 million barrels in February and 39.3 million barrels in March.

April was the most-hit in terms of the low volume of oil drilled, with Nigeria only able to produce 29.95 million barrels out of the 52.3 million barrels expected cumulative production for the month.

In May, the country produced 36.69 million barrels to continue the country’s deficit run while in June,

it struggled to raise production to 37.4 million barrels for the entire month.

Although production continues to drag, oil price has been relatively stable in 2023. This year, the key assumptions in the country’s 2023 budget include an oil price benchmark of $75 per barrel; exchange rate at N435.57 per dollar; oil production of 1.69 million barrels per day and inflation rate of 17.16 per cent.

NUPRC: Upstream Metering Regulation Will Enhance Real-time Oil Production Monitoring

The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) has said its recent upstream measurement regulation will ensure transparency, accountability and accuracy in the monitoring and recording of oil and gas production activities in Nigeria.

Chief Executive Officer of NUPRC, Mr. Gbenga Komolafe, disclosed this while speaking during the regulators panel session at the just-concluded

Nigeria Oil and Gas (NOG) Energy Week 2023 in Abuja.

measurement regulation, he said, was being deployed for the first time since the beginning of oil production in Nigeria in 1958, Komolafe explained that the upstream measurement regulation would encourage operators to use the latest digital technology similar to what obtains in Saudi Aramco and the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) to digitally monitor what happens at oil

installations in the country real-time.

He said the approach was necessary to assist the country tackle oil theft and inaccurate accounting of crude oil production from the regulatory point of view rather than only relying on kinetic approach used by security forces that are responsible for protecting national assets.

He added that with the aid of the regulation, which would ensure that all the facilities were properly metered in line with the latest technology, it would be possible

for the commission to electronically integrate all the meters and be able to deploy the digital map of all the upstream activities.

Komolafe stated: “But apart from that, you equally have the non-kinetic aspect with which the regulator is equally dealing with it. For instance, the commission is equally looking at the non-kinetic aspect of dealing with the issue of crude oil theft like ensuring that the regulator encourages the operators to deploy latest technology to deal with

issue of crude oil theft for monitoring, surveillance and all that.

“Besides that, the issue of transparent accounting of the produced volume. We have rolled out the regulation on measurement. That is the first time in history since oil was discovered in Nigeria. We now have in Nigeria an upstream measurement regulation.

“By the time we begin to implement the regulation, the ultimate objective and what the commission is seeking to achieve is in

a manner that there is a prescription of that regulation that we can actually monitor our production on real-time basis.”

According to him, the new regulation would be a win-win situation for both the government and the investors.

He maintained that issues of lack of transparency in terms of reconciliation of figures and related matters would be a thing of the past, assuring that, “the commission is very committed in that respect.”

Peter Uzoho

FOOD COMMODITIES PRICE TODAY

With $873.6bn, OPEC Records Highest Oil Export Revenue in Almost 10 Years

Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja

Petroleum export revenues from the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) climbed to the highest in a almost a decade last year, as Russia’s war on Ukraine bolstered crude prices and key members ramped up production. The 13 nations of OPEC

earned $873.6 billion in 2022, up 54 per cent from the prior year, according to a report from the group’s Statistical Bulletin. It was their best year since 2014, when the US shale boom ended a period of historically high oil prices.

Crude soared last year as energy flows from Russia, which joined with the cartel in

2016 in a wider network known as OPEC+, were disrupted by international backlash against its military aggression. Brent futures averaged about $99 a barrel, the highest since 2014.

OPEC nations such as Saudi Arabia and the UAE opened the taps to satisfy the post-pandemic recovery in fuel demand. The combination of surging prices

and increased output pushed up earnings for the entire group, Bloomberg reported.

The basket of crude grades typically sold by OPEC nations averaged just over $100 a barrel in 2022, while Bloomberg estimates showed that crude production from its 13 states was roughly 29.2 million barrels a day. The figures for petroleum revenue

Cost Engineers Want Deployment of Technology for Economic Growth

Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja

The Institute of Appraisers and Cost Engineers (IACE), has tasked its members on the deployment of modern technology to ensure competitive advantage and economic growth.

Chairman of IACE, Mr Ike Iwenofu in his welcome address at the 2023 National Technical Conference, Abuja, stated that the move was important because many people have limited knowledge of what engineering encompasses. He stated the general perception

is that engineering addresses technical issues such as the physical design of a structure or system without considering other important dimensions such as money, time and other resources.

The event was themed: “Cost Engineering, Engineering Valuation and Engineering Economy Perspectives on Re-Engineering the Manufacturing Sector for Competitiveness and Enhanced Economic Growth.”

The IACE was established in 2003 as a division of the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE) and

is a member of the International Cost Engineering Council (ICEC). According to Iwenofu, cost engineering entails that practitioners should embark on cost estimation, cost control, planning and scheduling, profitability analysis as well as project management.

“The institute recognises that new technologies are changing the way businesses operate. Expectedly, the next wave of industrial revolution will certainly impact some engineering processes. Operating models will change and plant and machinery

also include sales of refined products.

OPEC’s earnings peaked at roughly $1.2 trillion in 2012, just as the use of hydraulic fracturing — also known as fracking — was

unlocking a gusher of shale-oil in American states from Texas to North Dakota. The ensuing market crash spurred the Saudis and Russia, once fierce rivals, to form the OPEC+ coalition in 2016.

Report: Nigeria LNG Export

Dwindled 1.8MT in 2022

Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja

will likely go high tech and be more connected and data-driven than ever.

“Further advancement in technologies such as sensors, artificial intelligence, deep learning and computer vision could play a major role in manufacturing sector.

“As companies and markets embrace digital transformation, there is compelling need for engineering valuers, cost engineers and engineering economists to continue to improve and retool for the future,” the chairman added.

Sahara Group Acquires Two LPG Carriers to Drive Access to Gas

Peter Uzoho

Sahara Group, has placed an order for two Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) vessels to further drive access to clean energy in Nigeria and other African countries in line with its commitment to promoting the continent’s march towards energy transition.

It was learnt that the contracts for the two 40,000-cubic metres capacity carriers were signed a fortnight ago in Singapore between Sahara Group with headquarters in Dubai, United Arab Emirate (UAE) and Ulsan-based HD

Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering (HD KSOE).

Valued at $71 million each, the two LPG carriers are expected to boost the energy conglomerate’s strategic investments aimed at fostering safe, reliable, and sustainable access to LPG which is widely regarded as a cleaner source of energy that serves large populations.

THISDAY reliably gathered that the Ulsan-based Hyundai Mipo Shipyard (HMD) was scheduled to deliver one vessel in December 2025 and the other ship in early 2026.

HMD is one of the largest

shipbuilding companies with world share rank 1 (50 per cent) in PC (Product Carrier). Since the 1980s, more than 10,000 ships were repaired and converted until 2005 and 400 newly ordered ships were delivered until 2009.

Sahara Group, through its subsidiary, Sahara Energy, has a stake in four vessels, which are registered under West Africa Gas, also known as West Africa LPG, a joint venture between Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) and Ocean Bed Trading.

During the delivery ceremony

of Sapet Gas and Barumk Gas at HMD in May last year, the Group Chief Executive Officer, NNPC, Mallam Mele Kyari, had disclosed that the joint venture planned to acquire about 10 oil and gas vessels over the next decade.

Also speaking at the event, Executive Director, Sahara Group, Temitope Shonubi said Sahara Group was making remarkable progress in the construction of over 120,000 metric tonnes of storage facilities in 11 African countries, including Nigeria, Senegal, Ghana, Cote d’Ivoire, Tanzania, and Zambia.

FG Tasked on Policies to Increase Investments, Competition in Oil Sector

Peter Uzoho

Indigenous operators in the Nigerian upstream oil and gas sector under the aegis of the Independent Petroleum Producers Group (IPPG) have called on the Bola Tinubu-led government to pay priority attention to key areas in order to increase investments and competition in the nation’s hydrocarbon industry.

The group also declared its commitment to the development and growth of the oil and gas sector in alignment with the goals of the new administration.

The Chairman of IPPG, Mr. Abdulrazaq Isa, made the call while delivering his keynote speech at the just-concluded 2023 Nigeria Oil and Gas (NOG) Energy Week in Abuja.

Represented by the Executive Vice Chairman of ND Western Limited, Dr. Layi Fatona, Isa stressed the need for a focused delivery of key priorities to unlock Nigeria’s energy potential, fuel economic growth, diversify the economy, and enhance energy security sustainably.

Some of the priority areas

highlighted by the IPPG chairman include; establishment of a strong governance framework to guide the implementation of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) and facilitate systemic interaction and performance across the industry.

He said the aim was to ensure the overall delivery of the objectives, intent, and deliverables of the reforms.

He said another priority area was strengthening security in the Niger Delta to safeguard and stabilise the operating environment, stem crude theft, and enable seamless

access to turn around oil and gas production declines, thereby unlocking growth in the short to medium term.

Isa called for the establishment of value-creating midstream and downstream sectors, which he noted, remains vital to catalyse and rapidly industrialise the Nigerian economy.

“The ‘Decade of Gas’ policy and the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) provide foundations for building integrated plans and roadmaps to realize sustained value from these subsectors, ”Isa stated.

The International Gas Union (IGU) has said that Nigeria’s Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) export slumped by 1.8MT in 2022 on the back of force majeure declared as a result of the massive flooding during the period.

However, it did not stop Nigeria from emerging as the seventh global LNG exporter in 2022, according to the 14th annual edition of the IGU World LNG report released by the organisation.

In the list of the top 20 global LNG exporters for 2022, Australia ranked first, exporting 80.9 metric tonnes (MT) during the year, with the United States following closely in second place with 80.5 metric tonnes, while Qatar claimed the third spot with exports of 80.1 metric tonnes.

In the fourth position was Russia, exporting 33 MT in 2022, while Malaysia ranked fifth, exporting 27.3 MT even as Indonesia occupied sixth place with export of 15.7 MT, while Nigeria stood in seventh place with export of 14.7 MT.

Others included Oman in eighth place with LNG export of 11 MT, and Algeria in ninth place with 10.5 MT. Trinidad and Tobago was in the 10th place with 8.8 MT.

The report stated that a total of 19.9 MTPA of liquefaction capacity was added globally in 2022, of which 15 MTPA was from the US, 3.4 MTPA from Mozambique and 1.5 MTPA from Russia.

Mozambique also exported its first LNG shipment from its Coral South FLNG project in November 2022, Australia remained the world’s largest LNG exporter in 2022, exporting 80.9 MT, an annual increase of 1.9 MT, supported by reduced planned maintenance.

The US overtook Qatar to become the world’s second largest LNG exporter in 2022 despite Freeport LNG in Texas being taken offline following a fire in June 2022 which dented production capacity by 15.3 MTPA.

The document added that global LNG trade reached a new record of 401.5MT in 2022, up by 6.8 per cent as against 4.5 per cent in 2021, connecting 20 exporting markets with 462 importing markets.

Apparently , the 25.4 MT increase was driven by a surge in LNG demand in Europe to offset dropping pipeline flows from Russia.

In all, the top three exporters were together responsible for 60 per cent of global LNG output in 2022, the report noted.

“Of the 20 LNG exporting markets, six reduced exports last year. Large reductions in LNG exports were observed in Nigeria (-1.8 MT) due to low feedstock and force majeure being declared following extreme flooding,” it stated.

In her remarks, the IGU President Li Yalan, noted that spiking LNG demand from Europe and a lack of growth in global LNG supplies resulted in soaring gas prices amidst a tight market.

NIGERIA’S OIL PRODUCTION DECLINED BY 94.5M BARRELS IN H1, 2023

Production from most of the terminals continued to struggle in June, according to the NUPRC data, with crude oil volumes from Bonny slumping from 2.9 million barrels to 2.7 million barrels during the period.

Also, Qua Iboe fell from 4 million barrels in May to 3.7 million barrels in June, while production at the Escravos terminal shrank from 4.6 million barrels to 4.3 million barrels between May and June.

Odudu also curtailed production from 3.2 million barrels to 3.1 million from May to June while output from Tulja-Okwuibome fell from 1.1 million barrels the previous month to 1 million in June. Bonga also dropped in production from 3.9 million barrels to 3.7 million barrels.

However, it was cheering news from Forcados which ramped up

production from 6 million barrels to 7 million barrels at the terminal even as volume from Egina grew from 2.6 million barrels to 2.7 million barrels during the month.

Despite the continuing shortfall in the OPEC production quota, the NUPRC data showed that overall, month-on-month, Nigeria’s crude oil output grew by 65,000 barrels per day in June, to hit 1.25 million barrels daily output.

Beside other several challenges, Nigeria has had to battle the menace of oil theft and pipeline vandalism as well as waning investment in the oil sector, in the last few years, developments, which have hobbled oil production in the country. But recently, the federal government fixed November this year to hit the 1.74 million bpd OPEC allocation.

FG: Nigeria Will Define Own Terms on Energy Transition

Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja

The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Petroleum Resources, Mr Gabriel Aduda has stated that in the drive towards energy transition, Nigeria and the entire Africa should define their own terms of participation.

Aduda made the call in Abuja at the just-concluded Nigerians Oil and Gas (NOG) Energy Week Conference and Exhibition in Abuja, according to a statement from the Director of Information in the ministry, Enefaa Bob-Manuel.

The permanent secretary who delivered the ministerial address

spoke on: “Plans and Priorities for Nigeria’s Energy Mix”. He noted that the renewable energy alternative options also come with inherent challenges, including the cost implication.

Aduda posited that blaming climate change as a rationale for reducing investments that will take the continent out of energy poverty was not fair as to the continent.

While arguing that Africa barely contributes any significant percentage to the global emission crisis, he added that the continent’s access to energy is tied to the optimisation of its resources such

as gas. Speaking further, Aduda said that the conversation around energy transition away from carbon fuels as canvassed by leading western economies does not support Africa’s economic development and prosperity.

He however stated that investments in infrastructure, technology and capacity building are ways by which Nigeria can achieve a sustainable energy transition, reap the benefits of energy transition and compete favourably with the rest of the world.

He told the gathering that the federal government on its part was building policies around the gas path and creating other incentives for the sector, citing the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) N250 billion intervention fund in the oil and gas sector as an example of that commitment.

He also listed the Midstream and Downstream Gas Infrastructure Fund established by the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) and the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano (AKK) 614km-long natural gas pipeline as critical to realising the gas production objective.

Mota-Engil Acquires $200m Equipment for Benin Port Project

Gilbert Ekugbe

Mota-Engil Nigeria Limited has said that it invested over $200 million in construction equipment for the Benin Port project.

The move is coming on the heels of its recent delivery of over 200 heavy duty machinery for the construction of the Kano-Maradi railway line.

The Logistics Manager, Mota-Engil Nigeria Limited, Mr. Nuno Colaço, who led the company’s team to inspect the new equipment at the PTML terminal in Lagos, said with the recent addition, the company now boasts of the most modern fleet of equipment in the construction industry in Nigeria and would be deployed to its ever growing number of project sites to ensure timely and quality delivery.

This latest acquisition coincides

with the company’s emergence as the preferred bidder for the Benin Port Project, which has been described as the most ambitious legacy project of the Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki.

Chairman of the Benin Port Project, Dr. Greg Ogbeifun, confirmed at the weekend that the preferred bidder, Mota Engil Nigeria, emerged after a rigorous evaluation exercise conducted on the bids received in response to the Request for Proposals, from three pre-qualified bidders.

The Benin Port is designed to be a unique agro-based Port in Nigeria that encompasses a complete smart Port Community Complex for industrial processing and export of agricultural produce and other goods, with independent, clean and renewable energy installations. The container and multipurpose terminals of the port will also have RoRo

facilities to enable direct importation of vehicles for the thriving automobile industry in Edo State, among other commercial activities that would spring from the port operations.

While reacting to Mota-Engil’s emergence, Governor Obaseki said it was delightful that the project has finally kicked off in earnest to serve as a launch pad for the expansion of Edo’s $11.8 billion economy, noting that it would catalyze the growth of the agriculture, real estate, manufacturing, food processing, automotive, power, retail and extractive sectors. “We are now set for the commencement of this landmark project, which will open a new vista of opportunities for Edo people and Nigerians in general,” he noted.

Also earlier this week, the Federal Government requested Mota-Engil Nigeria to procure Compressed

Brown: Nigeria’s Upstream Needs In-country Successes to Attract Investments

Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja

The Chief Executive Officer, Seplat Energy Plc, Mr. Roger Brown, has said that there is the need for funding in the upstream and midstream segment of the energy sector in Nigeria.

He maintained that relevant success stories from the country will facilitate the investments, positing that attracting the necessary funding will be dependent on regulatory reforms, fiscal terms restructuring and several other relevant policies.

The Seplat Energy CEO disclosed this at the 2023 Nigeria Oil & Gas Conference (NOG) held in Abuja, where he featured on a panel session

Lagos Govt Commends Uber’s Emergency In-trip Support App

The Lagos State has commended the in-trip emergency app support feature introduced by Uber for drivers and riders within the e-hailing sector.

This is as the firm noted that innovation within Nigeria’s e-hailing sector has continued to drive their investment in the country.

Speaking at the launch of the Uber’s new safety features in Lagos, the Director General of the Lagos State Safety Commission, Mr. Lanre Mojola noted that the government of Babajide Sanwo-Olu would continue to create an enabling environment for the e-hailing sector to thrive in line with the THEMES agenda.

safe on the platform.

He said, “Riders and drivers can access the Safety Toolkit by tapping the shield icon on their app’s map screen. After tapping the Emergency Assistance feature, you will see your GPS location, car make and model, and licence plate.

“If you tap the “Call Security” button and connect to a private emergency services and security responder, those trip details become available to them digitally and can be used to respond to an emergency. After your contact with the emergency services, Uber’s customer support team will check in to see if you’re alright.”

National Gas (CNG) and Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) as against Diesel Multiple Unit (DMU) engines for the Kano-Maradi rail line Rolling Stock for more environmentallyfriendly operations.

While acknowledging the fact that it may not have been in the original agreement and will attract additional cost, the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Transportation, Dr. Magdalene Ajani, while signing the Agreement on behalf of the Federal Government pointed out that it was the right way to go in checking the harmful effect of global warming.

The Managing Director, Mota-Engil Nigeria, Pedro Pereira, assured the Permanent Secretary that the request for a more environmentally-friendly energy source will be considered and complied with accordingly.

“With the Uber launch of emergency on-trip assistance and audio recording in Nigeria, we believe safety culture among the citizenry will improve. We like to commend them for setting the pace and we know they will continue to break the barrier in terms of security and convenience which we know is inline with THEMES agenda, “he said.

Speaking, Country Manager for Uber in Nigeria, Tope Akinwumi emphasised that safety is a core priority for their business, adding that they have invested heavily in technology and other measures to help keep drivers and riders

He intimated that Uber would soon launch audio recording which allows riders and drivers to use the app to record and share audio of their trip as evidence in the case of a safety incident.

“Uber believes the new audio recording feature will improve the overall quality of evidence collected on the safety incidents that are reported by both riders and drivers. This means that both riders and drivers will have the ability to record the trip and submit their recordings alongside the safety tickets they’ll submit. By logging a safety incident along with a recording, the rider or driver gives Uber permission to access the file for investigation purposes, ”he said.

themed: ‘‘The Investors Perspective: Assessing the Attractiveness of Nigeria’s Energy Sector.”

“Nigeria needs more success stories to attract more investments to the upstream sector. We need to solve the insecurity dilemma around the country’s pipeline infrastructure.

“We need to enforce clarity and separation of powers among regulatory authorities, work closer with field operators to resolve host community issues, and amend fiscal terms of Production Sharing Contracts (PSCs) to include more incentives for asset partners

“We also need to improve fiscal terms on gas contracts to support

uptake at market reflective prices and improve efficiency and capacity of the Nigerian electricity value chain in order to aid higher uptake of domestic gas supply,” he said.

While also speaking on the things investors look out for in Nigerian companies, Brown said financially strong companies with robust balance sheet, low debt and credible access to international capital markets have an edge.

“Other factors are stock market listing and associated need for governance, with preference for dual-listed companies such as Seplat, where equity can be traded in liquid markets.

L-R: former Director, Airworthiness Standards, Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority NCAA), . Kayode Ajiboye; Chairman, Air Peace, . Allen Onyema; Outgoing President, ASRTI/ART Network,. Gbenga Olowo; CEO, Kings Airline and Chairman of the Occasion, Senator Musa Adede; MD, Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Kabir Muhammed; and MD, Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), Engr. Taoheed Odunowo, at the Aviation Roundtable Q2 2023 Brunch Business Meeting themed: Aviation Reset: Agenda for A New Administration (Increasing the Numbers), held in Lagos… recently PHOTO: KOLAWOLE ALLI

Oluchi Chibuzor

H2’23: Comercio Partners Urges Investors to Focus on Sectors Driving Economy

Oluchi Chibuzor

Investment banking firm, Comercio Partners has urged investors to adopt cautious approach and focus on sectors that drive the economy in the second half of the year.

Co-Managing Partner, Comercio Partners, Steve Osho gave the advice in a report on the review of the economy in H1’23 and outlook for H2’23.

Citing notable developments in the H1’23 including the naira redesign policy, the general election and reforms announced by the new government, Osho observed that, “The first half of this year has been an exhilarating ride, featuring a blend of bullish and bearish sentiments in the fixed income markets

“The Nigerian stock market, displaying its resilience, weathered macro economic challenges and election anxieties, soaring to its highest index point in 16years at 66,381.20, making the NGX the best performing in Sub-Saharan Africa

“In the same vein, the beginning of the exchange rate reform which saw the acting CBN governor announcing the commencement of a much more flexible exchange rate policy and unification of the currency has seen better harmonization between the I&E official window and the parallel market trading within a very close gap of circa $/760-770.”

Projecting on the direction of the economy in H2’23, Osho stressed that the trajectory of the economy in H2 ‘23 will greatly hinge on the ministerial appointment by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, as well as forthcoming monetary and fiscal policies.

He noted that, “The sustainability of the fuel subsidy removal and the liberalization of the foreign exchange market will play pivotal roles in the second half of the year. Alongside this, the revision of the minimum wage from N30,000 to N200,000 to enable Nigerians bear the brunt of the economic

reforms emerges as a topic of interest.”

Osho, however, expressed optimism on the continued positive performance of the financial markets in H2’23, with increased participation from foreign portfolio investors.

He said: “For the fixed income markets, we expect bullish sentiments in the near term, due to the buoyant system liquidity. However, as the year progresses, cautionary sentiments may arise, as investors keenly observe foreign portfolio investors participation,with yields expected totrend upwards to attract Foreign Portfolio Investments(FPIs).

“For the local stock market, we envision a continued upward trajectory in the benchmark All-Share Index, driven by investor anticipation of impressive financial performance from banks following the unification of foreign exchange rates.”

Customs Rakes N6.2bn in 2023 Second Quarter

The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Kwara State Command has said that it raked a total sum of N6.2 billion as revenue between April and June 2023.

Speaking with journalists in Ilorin on activities of the command in the second quarter of 2023, the Customs Area Controller, the state command, Mr. Kehinde Ilesanmi, said that, “the money represents 9.14 per cent of the revenue increase when compared to preceding year 2022.

“The Command has at the end of the second quarter 2023,

generated the sum of N 6, 246, 485,827.97.

He added that the command under his watch between January and June this year has collected and remitted the sum of N9, 813,483,412.09 to federation account.

“This amount is above what was collected from (JanuaryJune, 2022) with the sum of N5,762,552,633.87,” he stated.

Ilesanmi stated that the results of the command’s anti-smuggling activities coupled with its renewed drive in utilization of cutting edge strategies had led to 56 seizures of different items

with Duty Paid Value (DPV) N48,822,400.00.

He listed items seized during the period under review to include; nine units of used vehicles of different types, 813 bags of foreign parboiled rice, 24,950 litres of petroleum product in 998 Jerry cans and 14 kegs of vegetable oil of 25 litres.

“The seizures were successfully accomplished as a result of the renewed determination of the Comptroller-General of Customs, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, to rid the country of all forms of illegal importation, “Ilesanmi said.

NEYAH Launches Gemstone Collection

Sunday Ehigiator

With the aim of redefining fashion for women, NEYAH, a Nigerian online clothing brand for today’s woman has unveiled its new logo alongside its latest Afro-inspired collection, ‘The Gemstone Collection’.

In a statement signed by the founder, Ogo Idam, she said the avant-garde idea was born when she observed that women needed a reliable and trusted bespoke brand to gear up for the corporate world.

He said, “At the heart of

NEYAH’s brand identity is the empowerment of modern women in their everyday lives, to look the part as they break barriers and glass ceilings in their respective professions. The core of NEYAH’s styling is bespoke Afrocentric clothing that is deeply rooted in Nigerian origin and inspired by the versatility of African women.”

Speaking on the latest collection, she said it displays the use of vibrant colours and patterns to create exuberant, Afrocentric yet sophisticated looks fit for women of different ages, body types and

styles. “The Gemstone Collection includes a dynamic styling combination of corporate clothing and smart wear that redefines fashion for women.I am particularly excited to share this Collection with the world because a lot of thought went into the design of each piece. I enjoy alternative clothing choices and sharing creative options with friends and loved ones, so NEYAH is my way of expressing these custom-made, fashionable and quality clothing options with you.

AFEX to Drive New Strategy for Formalized Commodity Markets

AFEX, the leading private commodities exchange in Nigeria, hosted the first edition of its CEO Breakfast.

The AFEX CEO breakfast, which was themed “Mapping the Future: Unlocking Value in the Commodities Market” was created to engage industry leaders to explore alternative investment instruments as a means of portfolio diversification, with a goal of increasing participation in the commodities market.

AFEX’s CEO breakfast comes on the heels of the new administration’s move to drive agricultural growth

and inclusivity through the implementation of commodity exchanges. With this strategy, the administration is looking to guarantee minimal pricing for crop commodities and enhance storage capacity across the country.

An essential part of this focus on commodity exchanges lies in boosting investment and participation of market players. This development forms the imperative of the CEO breakfast as a platform for key stakeholders to share valuable insights, explore partnerships, and create opportunities to unlock the

L-R: Director, Public Affairs, Communications and Sustainability, Coca-Cola Nigeria, Nwamaka Onyemelukwe; President, Women In Africa (WIA), Hafsat Abiola; Founder, Davichi Farms and Agrotech Nigeria Limited, Chioma Echegwisi (the Winner

Money Market Indicators (in Percentage)

potential of Nigeria’s Agriculture sector and deliver shared value for all.CEO, Kainos Edge Consulting Limited, Doyin Salami, while giving his presentation mentioned, “While we often speak about finance, it [finance] is not going to come until we have a rethink around structure, and that is why all of you [in this room] are stakeholders…AFEX has succeeded in putting up infrastructure to tackle challenges, but it is by no means near en ough…this is why the exchange, and these conversations are important.”

OPEC DAILY BASKET PRICE AS AT 17 JULY, 2023

The price of OPEC basket of thirteen crudes stood at $82.06 a barrel on Friday, compared with $81.53 the previous day, according to OPEC Secretariat calculations.

The OPEC Reference Basket of Crudes (ORB) is made up of the following: Saharan Blend (Algeria), Girassol (Angola), Djeno (Congo), Zafiro (Equatorial Guinea), Rabi Light (Gabon), Iran Heavy (Islamic Republic of Iran), Basrah Medium (Iraq), Kuwait Export (Kuwait), Es Sider (Libya), Bonny Light (Nigeria), Arab Light (Saudi Arabia), Murban (UAE) and Merey (Venezuela).

of the JAMII Femmes $10,000 grant funding) and Country Manager, In Touch Nigeria, Obi Anigbogu at the JAMII Femmes Closing Ceremony which held in Lagos....recently

Hammed Shittu

Renewed Interest in FBN Holdings, Others Lift Stock Market by N203bn

Kayode Tokede

Opening a new week for trading activities, the stock market of the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) rebound by N203billion as investors renew interest in FBN Holdings, Access Holdings, and Geregu Power Plc, among others. Accordingly, the FBN Holdings gained 9.8 per cent, as Access Corporation and Geregu Power gained 9.7 per cent and 6.1 per

cent respectively.

The NGX All Share Index (ASI) gained 373.62 basis points or 0.60 per cent to close at 62,943.35 basis points with the Month-to-Date and Year-to-Date returns increasing to 3.2per cent and 22.8per cent, respectively.

Consequently, market capitalisation rose N203 billion to close at N34.273 trillion.

Also, market breadth closed positive, as 42 stocks gained

relative to 28 losers. Daar Communications, Fidelity Bank and Unilever Nigeria recorded the highest price gain of 10 per cent each to close at 33 kobo, N7.37 and N15.95 respectively, per share. Sterling Financial Holdings Company followed with a gain of 9.97 per cent to close at N3.42, while John Holt rose by 9.94 per cent to close at N1.99, per share.

On the other hand, PZ Cus-

sons Nigeria, Union Bank of Nigeria (UBN), Veritas Kapital Assurance and SFS Real Estate Investment Trust led the losers’ chart by 10 per cent each to close at N16.20, N6.30, 27 kobo and N69.30, respectively, per share.

FTN Cocoa processors followed with a decline of 9.93 per cent to close at N2.54, while Eterna declined by 9.89 per cent to close at N23.70, per share.

The total volume traded

advanced by 18.2 per cent to 710.02 million units, valued at N13.83 billion, and exchanged in 8,979 deals. Transactions in the shares of Sterling Financial Holdings Company topped the activity chart with 65.959 million shares valued at N216.572 million. Transnational Corporation (Transcorp) followed with 62.201 million shares worth N225.595 million, while Unity Bank traded 59.666 million shares valued at

N79.965 million.

Access Holdings traded 51.055 million shares valued at N828.767 million, while Universal Insurance sold 49.807 million shares worth N12.338 million.

This week, analysts at United Capital Plc stated that, “we expect the bullish sentiments to resume in the equities market as investors will look to take advantage of the low-pricing of stocks (from last week’s selloffs) in the market.

PRICES FOR SECURITIES TRADED ASOF JULY/17/23

COURTESY VISIT BY WEMA BANK TEAM TO THE NYSC...

House Urges Service Chiefs to Collectively Tackle, Reduce Insecurity

Troops intercept truckload of ammunition from Mali ’Signal directing withdrawal of orderlies from VIPs fake’

The House of Representatives leadership, yesterday, urged all the service chiefs to work collectively to deliver more on the goals of the current administration to drastically reduce cases of insecurity across the country.

This was as the Nigerian Army Headquarters had disclosed that troops of 192 Battalion operating in 81 Division of the army, overseeing Lagos and Ogun States, intercepted an international ammunition smuggling syndicate in Ogun State.

Also, the Nigeria Police, yesterday, denied reports of a signal that emanated from Force Headquarters directing the withdrawal of police

aides attached to politicians and VIPs, prompting the Acting Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, to order a probe of the fake signal.

Chairman of the Ad hoc Committee to screen the Service Chiefs, Hon Babajimi Benson, said this during the screening of Major General Christopher Musa as chief of Defence Staff and Major General Tiamiyu Lagbaja as Chief of Army Staff.

He said for more than 16 years, Nigeria has witnessed diverse and unprecedented level of insecurity in which the Armed Forces of Nigeria had been fully involved, prompting the launch of several theatres of operations and exercises as well as providing support for tackling several domestic security challenges.

“We acknowledge these robust achievements, which is a proof of the level of professionalism often displayed by our military in the discharge of their duties. We urge you to effectively collaborate with sister security agencies to ensure that all security threats are completely neutralised, and Nigerians can live peacefully," he said.

The lawmaker said, the role of securing lives and property of Nigerians is the collective task for all arms of government and that the House of Representatives was delighted with the successes recorded so far, especially in the last years. His words: “While the House will continue to support this vision through our legislative activities, we shall also embark on rigorous

Adeleke: Determination is Key to Surviving Life’s Challenges

Osun State Governor, Senator Ademola Adeleke, has urged young people to be focused on their goals in life, noting that the deciding factor in achieving one's dream is being determined.

Adeleke gave the charge at the Adeleke University convocation in Ede on Sunday, narrating the journey he endured to become a governor in Nigeria.

The governor, who described education as a tool to propel people to become whatever they want to become in life, reminded the audience of how he went through challenges to be where he is today.

Holding on July 16, a date that marked one year that he won election as Osun governor, Adeleke pointed out the reasons that made him leave the shores of the country after he was robbed of the election he won on first ballot in 2018 before he reran.

"Today marks a year since my election as the governor of Osun State," he recalled, saying, "Four years before then, in 2018, I was rigged out and our mandate was stolen. I was subjected to the worst personality attacks and assaults in Osun political history.

"After a manipulated judicial process, I went on self-exile for two major reasons. Firstly, to escape the evil plot of enemies, who were not satisfied with stealing the people's

mandate. Secondly, to complete my degree programmes especially as my educational qualifications dominated the 2018 campaigns.

"At my age then, I successfully re-enrolled and completed my degree programme. I am proud of that achievement and I thank my family and friends for their total support. I came back to re-

contest in 2022 as a brand new graduate. The rest is now history," he stressed.

Governor Adeleke said the lesson from achieving his goal of becoming governor was that there should never be barrier in educational pursuit, noting that, "What we need is commitment and passion to succeed."

oversight exercises, beginning from this screening, to ensure that the Armed Forces of Nigeria adhere strictly to the provisions of all Appropriation Acts as will be eventually passed by the National Assembly and accented to by Mr. President.”

The Chief of Defence Staff, Maj Gen Christopher Musa said that the Armed Forces would rely on inter-agency collaboration to deal with emerging security challenges under his watch.

He, however, promised that his leadership of the Armed Forces would be hinged on three pillars of people-centricity, prioritizing troops' welfare and deepening joint and interagency collaboration.

The Chief of Army Staff, Maj Gen Taoreed Lagbaja, also promised to run a proactive, adaptive and inclusive leadership if confirmed.

“I consider my nomination as a call to higher responsibilities and I am determined not to betray the trust and confidence reposed in me. It is an open secret that our country has faced a challenging security environment in the past two decades.

“It has impacted adversely on our socio economic and political lives. The episodic crises of the past have now become enduring thereby making governance and the rule of law more challenging for successive administrations. Today’s painful reality is that insecurity has distorted our developmental plans and aspirations of a strong,

prosperous, globally competitive and influential nation.

“Never in the recent past is the requirement for proactive, adaptive and inclusive leadership more needed than Nigeria’s security environment of today. These requirements are what I intend to carry out as COAS if confirmed. I am mindful that the Nigerian Army, which I am being screened to lead, is a crucial component of our military instrument of national power."

Troops TruckloadIntercept of Ammunition

from Mali

Nigerian Army Headquarters, yesterday, disclosed that troops of 192 Battalion operating in 81 Division of the army, overseeing Lagos and Ogun States, intercepted an international ammunition smuggling syndicate in Ogun State.

It said troops, based on actionable intelligence, conducted a meticulous and rigorous stop and search operation along Ajilete-Owode Road in Yewa North LGA of Ogun State and uncovered the illegal ammunition in a truck with Registration number ENU 697 XY.

A statement signed by Army Spokesman, Brig-Gen Onyema Nwachukwu, said the truck was loaded with 720 packets of red star cartridges of 12 calibre, containing 25 cartridges per packet, totalling 18, 000 cartridges and an additional 250 packets of live (black) cartridges

HYPREP Pledges FG’s Commitment to Ogoni Cleanup

Blessing Ibunge in Port Harcourt

The Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project (HYPREP) has assured of the federal government’s commitment to the cleanup and restore the polluted sites in Ogoniland, in Rivers State. This was as the agency revealed that it would soon commence the remediation of over 3300 hectares of land heavily affected by oil spill in the area.

HYPREP Project Coordinator, Prof. Nenibarini Zabbey, made this disclosure yesterday, while speaking at a one- day national roundtable organised by the Peoples Advancement Centre, held in Port Harcourt.

Zabbey, who stated that the agency has set up all necessary structures required for the successful execution of the project, assured that the government would deliver on

the mandate given on the project, adding that plan was ongoing to plant 5 million mangroves on Ogoniland.

The HYPREP boss further emphasised that the federal government has provided all the funds needed for the cleanup of Ogoniland, assuring that the HYPREP under his watch would carry out a remediation that would stand the test of time.

Zabbey said: "As it stands today, I can assure you that funding is not a problem. The federal government is highly committed to the Ogoni cleanup and other stakeholders like the international oil companies are also committed.

"We want a cleanup that will be driven by the Ogoni people and that is owned by the people. I think we are making good progress on the clean-up."

Zabbey, also disclosed that

HYPREP has completed works on low risk sites and had begun works on medium risk areas, adding that it has 39 sites in the category.

He noted that experts have been sent into the sites for characterisation and contractors mobilised, adding that it would also commence planting of mangroves in Bomu Community, Gokana Local Government Area, soon.

"There are 39 land remediation in medium risk sites that has to do with soil remediation and ground water remediation. Contractors have been mobilised to site and they are on with characterisation.

"We are going to plant Mangroves in Bomu. Our team went out and said there are mangroves already sprouting out in Bomu. It means that the pollution in the area has gone down," he said.

He added that HYPREP would be recruiting 500 youths for the

security surveillance of clean-up sites and other facilities in Ogoniland of Rivers State.

Earlier in his address, the Coordinator of Peoples Advancement Centre, Celestine Akpobari, said there was need for the Civil Society Organisations to support HYPREP and act as a watch dog to ensure its (HYPREP's) mandates are achieved under the current coordinator.

Akpobari said: "We have gathered here today brainstorm to see what to get out of a bad situation. Our environment has been written off. What do we do?

On his part, Executive Director of Environmental Rights Action/ Friends of the Earth Nigeria, Mr. Chima William, promised that the CSOs would provide oversights to the project as it deserved, noting that solution to speedy Ogoni cleanup up lied with Zabbey as a former Civil Society member.

containing 10 packets each, totalling 2500 cartridges of same calibre.

"The suspects, identified as Mr. Eric Seworvor, a Ghanaian national, and the driver, Mr Lukman Sani, have been taken into custody and are helping with ongoing investigations.

"Information gathered during preliminary investigation revealed that the ammunition, which were surreptitiously concealed in a supposed empty truck were imported from Mali, via Idiroko International Border, where the criminals had successfully beaten several other checkpoints en-route their final destination in Onitsha, Anambra State, where they intended to deliver the illegal ammunition.

"Timely intervention by the vigilant troops, however, thwarted the chaos that such volume of ammunition would have unleashed on innocent members of the public, if the criminals had succeeded," it said.

Police: Signal Directing Withdrawal of Orderlies Attached to VIPs Fake

The Nigeria Police, yesterday, denied reports of a signal allegedly emanating from the Force Headquarters, directing the withdrawal of police aides attached to politicians and VIPs.

A statement by Force Public Relations Officer and Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP), Muyiwa Adejobi, said the purported signal was fake.

"The Nigeria Police Force wishes to address the ambiguity surrounding a signal that has been in circulation on social media, purportedly originating from MOPOL 45 FHQ ABJ, ordering the removal of police aides from certain top politicians and their relatives.

"The police hereby unequivocally clarifies that the signal is fake and did not emanate from the NPF or any of its formations.

"More emphatically, the signal deviates from the police’s telegraphic message structure and standard as the signal bears the signature of a Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), which is highly irregular, as a signal of this nature would typically be signed by an Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), who heads such formations, and not a higher-ranking officer," it said.

The statement, however, affirmed that Egbetokun, "has taken immediate notice and ordered a thorough investigation into its source and assures that appropriate action will be taken against those responsible for its creation and dissemination."

L-R: Divisional Head, Retail/SME Division, Wema Bank, Ayodele Olojede; Executive Director, Retail/Digital Business, Tunde Mabawonku; Director General, National Youth Service Corps, Brigadier General Yushau Ahmed; Relationship Manager, Abuja Regions, Wema Bank, Aniekanabasi Abasi; and Retail Cluster Head, Abuja Regions, Timi Obisesan, during a courtesy visit by the Wema Bank team to the NYSC Headquarters in Maitama, Abuja… recently.

Yinka Kolawole in Osogbo

Kingsley Nwezeh and Juliet Akoje in Abuja

A NEW AARE ATUNLUTO OF ILARA KINGDOM, EPE, IS INSTALLED...

Customs Seizes Arms, Ammunitions as Adeniyi Blames Non-state Actors for Proliferation

Eromosele Abiodun

The Acting Comptroller General of the Nigeria Customs (NCS), Adewale Adeniyi, yesterday, in Lagos, blamed non-state actors for the proliferation of small arms and ammunition across the country.

Adeniyi stated this during a press briefing to showcase arms and ammunitions intercepted by the service within the first two weeks of July 2023, in Lagos.

He said the activities of non-state actors accounted for the increase in violent kidnappings, robberies and mass killings in the society.

According to him, “Let me state at this point that the Service has re-strategised its operations, while our officers have raised their levels of professionalism, and have keyed into the mantra of renewed hope aimed at facilitating legitimate trade. In doing this, we are assuring all compliant traders and importers that they have nothing to fear.”

He stated that the deployment of manual approach to manning the checkpoints, so far achieved limited results, adding that going ahead, the Customs would be integrating the use of technology.

"I believe that we have not reaped maximum potential that we can get from enforcement. When we integrate the use of technology in our enforcement strategies we will get better results and better use of intelligence and of course the operation of our checkpoints has not given us the kind of result that we desire, rather it has created some kind of reputation damage for us, so we are already reviewing the way we have our checkpoints and the architecture of our security patrols replacing it with a new structure.

We are also going to strengthen federal operations units across the country," he stressed.

He pointed out that since assuming the role of Acting Comptroller General, its dedicated officers and men have demonstrated unwavering commitment to their responsibilities.

“Their diligence and perseverance have been the cornerstone of our operations. Our actions within the NCS have been driven by a deep sense of purpose and guided by the mantra of renewed hope, which underpins the current administration's vision.

“We recognise the significance of our role in contributing to the overall objectives of the President Tinubu-led Administration, as articulated in the Road Map of the Policy Advisory Council document. The declaration of a state of emergency in revenue generation and national security has further aligned our activities with the government's overarching goals.

“In pursuant to this commitment, I stand before you today to highlight the recent achievements of the NCS in our ongoing efforts to suppress smuggling and safeguard national security, “he added.

He stated that on 5th of July 2023, during a joint operation with the Nigeria Police, the Department of State Security (DSS), the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), the Customs Intelligence Unit at the Ports Terminal and Multi Services Limited Command, a thorough physical examination of a 40ft container revealed the concealment of 10 dangerous arms and various rounds of live ammunition inside plastic drums.

"The details are three new Pump Action rifles and one new unit of an armed rifle, six new different

makes of pistols, one new millennium G2 pistol, one new sarsilmaz SAR-9X pistol, one new Lugger Security-9 pistol, one new Taurus Banbridge G3C pistol, one new SCCY CPX-2 pistol, and one new Taurus (63 pistols) 442 rounds of live ammunition, “he said.

He disclosed that the clearing agent, Mr. Shokunbi Olanrewaju of Shooler Global International Limited and Mr Joseph Nwadiodor, who was expected to take delivery of the container, are currently detained as suspects in connection with the seizure.

"Similarly, within the same period, the Tincan Island Port Command of the Service, while acting on credible intelligence; a 1x40ft container was also subjected to 100 per cent physi-

cal examination with the relevant security agencies at the ports. The physical examination uncovered 18 arms, packets of cartridges and rounds of live ammunition inside plastic drums.

“The container caintained; six different makes of pistols, two Sar9 Sarsilmarz Pistols, one Ruger American Pistol and three Taurus G3c – Bainbridge Pistols. Others include; two different makes of riffles five Rz17hd Rifles, one Gamo Rifle, five pump Action Rifles and one Rz17 Tactical Rifle, 10 packets of cartridges, two packets of 9mm ammunition, 100 rounds of 9mm Winchester ammunition, one carton of Frontier cartridges and two packets of Buckshot ammunition

“In another development, during

a routine patrol along Owode/ Ajilete Axis of Ogun State by officers of the Joint Border Patrol Team Sector 2, on the 12th of July 2023, the customs intercepted an unregistered Toyota Camry loaded with six sacks of charcoal, which was used to conceal three pump action riffles with 174 live cartridges.

"The driver of the vehicle, who knew the content he was conveying vis-a-vis the attendant consequences of his action before the law; jumped into the bush and escaped arrest. In summary, investigation into the seizures is inconclusive," he added. He pointed out that the outcome of its investigations together with the seizures would be handed over to the appropriate authorities for further investigation and

prosecution.

"We have re-injected new tactics to tackle the economic and security menace caused by recalcitrant importers and their agents. The Service’s human resources and logistics are collectively harnessed to combat and prevent economic sabotage, “he averred.

He implored importers and agents to be patriotic by making sincere declarations, and to be properly guided by the import/ export prohibition lists.

“I also urge the public to see security as a collective responsibility. We will appreciate information of illegal importation and cross border movement of dangerous weapons used to create mayhem in our nation, “he stated.

CD Slams Senators, Reps over N110bn Palliatives, SUV Largesse

Sunday Aborisade in Abuja

The Campaign for Democracy (CD), has described as unacceptable, the allocation of N70 billion as palliatives to the 469 members of the National Assembly to cushion the effects of the subsidy removal.

The civil society group also asked Nigerians to rise up against the N40 billion set aside for the purchase of Sports Utility Vehicles (SUVs) and bulletproof cars for principal officials and members of the federal parliament.

The CD in a statement in Abuja,

by its National President, Ifeanyi Odili, berated politicians in and outside the shores of Nigeria to take their stand and be counted on the side of the people or face eternal condemnation from God and men.

Part of the statement read, "We are aware of the position of Nigeria in ECOWAS, we support our President, but we register our objection to any government policy that may bring hardship to the people.

"CD is not, and will not be in support of coup de'tat anywhere in

Africa. The bottom line is that we need good democratic governance as it is the only panacea to mass revolt in Africa.

"The recent proposal by NASS members to award for themselves, N110 billion as palliative fund is acute irresponsibility and insensitivity on their part to the plight of their constituents who put their trust in them.

"The NASS members are not better citizens than any other person in Nigeria, hence the attempt to squander such humongous amount of money

High Court Wall Collapse: Constitutional Lawyer, Ajulo, Extends Condolences to Ekiti CJ

Urges Tinubu to align judges' salaries with Senators

Gbenga Sodeinde in Ado Ekiti

A constitutional lawyer and human rights activist, Dr. Kayode Ajulo, has expressed condolences to the Ekiti State judiciary following the unfortunate collapse of a section of the State's High court. He particularly sympathised with the Chief Judge of the State, Hon. Justice Oyewole Adeyeye, who was directly affected by the incident.

Ajulo used the opportunity to call on the government to prioritise the reconstruction of old court buildings nationwide and address the issue

of judges' wages comprehensively.

He emphasised the need to also reform the salary structure of judges to bring it at par with that of Senators.

"It is crucial for the government to replicate the successful court redesign and renovation carried out in Lagos State during Bola Tinubu's tenure as governor. This initiative should be extended nationwide now that he is the President" Ajulo stated.

In addition, Ajulo stressed the importance of ensuring the security of justices, especially in light of the recent extension of their retirement age, citing the issue between the

Osun State government and the Chief Judge of the State.

He urged the government to declare a state of emergency to safeguard the welfare and security of federal judges, as they may face potential conspiracies.

"What happened to the Ektit CJ is symbolic and a pointer to the present fortune of most of them as endangered species," he added.

Addressing the issue of security, Ajulo emphasised that it extends beyond physical safety. He said the social, spiritual and welfare security of judges should also be critically ad-

dressed, including fair and improved salaries and emoluments.

He drew attention to the 2022 judgment of the National Industrial Court of Nigeria, which called for a substantial increment in the salaries of the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) and other judges, stating, that "it is unacceptable that judges' salaries have remained stagnant since 2008, and this necessitates immediate action."

Ajulo, underscored the crucial role of the judiciary in upholding democracy and serving as the common man's refuge in governance.

He lamented the disproportion-

ate remuneration of the judiciary compared to the other two arms of government despite the significance of its works.

"Despite shouldering the burden of political irregularities and providing justice for politicians, the judges' wages do not reflect the significance of their work.

“With less than 300 federal judicial officers compared to over 400 politicians at the national assembly receiving substantial salaries and emoluments, it is imperative to ensure that judges receive salaries commensurate with their indispensable role.

on frivolities stands by condemned by God and men.

"We are aware that states’ allocation from the federation Account has been improved upon, but it does not reflect on the welfare of the people. This is pathetic.

"We are conversant with the anticoup d'etat unit being proposed by the Economic Community of West African States, under the leadership of the Nigerian President, Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

"We assert that, it can only be applicable if it is not precipitated of oppression of the people, looting of national treasuries, constitution manipulation, brutal and excessive use of power, extreme and destructive corruption.

"Our position is that all citizens must be treated with equity and fairness irrespective of positions.

"Furthermore, the National Executive Committee of the Campaign for Democracy has resolved to monitor the lawmakers in Nigeria, the both at federal and state level to represent their constituency fairly well."

Odili also advised state governments to utilise the federal allocation allotted them judiciously to better the lots of their people.

He said failure to do so would force the CD to mobilise mass actions against ill treatment of Nigerian masses with a view to defending their basis of existence.

L-R: Chief Jelil Olayemi, Asoju Oba of Ilara; Chief Charles Keshinro, Odofin of Ilara; Chief Owolabi Talabi, Olisa of Ilara; Oba (Dr) Olufolarin Ogunsanwo, Alara of Ilara; Chief Azeez Balogun, Ekeji of Ilara; Col Rotimi Vaughan, Hon Consul Designate of Trinidad & Tobago; HE Wendell de Landro, High Commissioner of Trinidad & Tobago to Nigeria during his installation as Aare Atunluto of Ilara Kingdom, Epe, Lagos State...over the weekend.

NDIGBOAMAKA MARKET ASSOCIATION CONFERENCE…

Police, Vigilance Group Recover Trailer-load of Cement Hijacked by Gunmen in

Arrest seven suspects, rescue one victim in Rivers

David-Chyddy Eleke in Awka and Blessing Ibunge in Port Harcourt

Police operatives attached to Area Command headquarters in Ihiala, Anambra State, who were working in conjunction with operatives of the Anambra State Vigilance in Okija have recovered a Howo trailer laden with Bua Cement, which was hijacked by gunmen in Delta State. This is just operatives of the Rivers State Police command

Six-man

Delta

have arrested seven suspects in connection to alleged armed robbery, kidnapping, car snatching and cult related activities in the state.

Regarding the recovery of trailer, the Anambra State Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), DSP Tochukwu Ikenga, who disclosed this to journalists, gave the registration number of the truck as: Delta AKU 247 XB. He said the truck was conveying 1,000 bags of Bua cement when it was hijacked.

Gang

Rapes

TV Presenter in Niger

Laleye Dipo in Minna

A gang of six men was reported to have raped an 18-year-old private television station presenter in Lapai town of Niger State. The incident took place last Saturday. It was learnt that the presenter was on her way home from the office when she received a phone call from someone she apparently was familiar with.

According to a reliable source, the caller asked her to come to

Kobo Primary School near the Emir’s palace in the town, a call she responded to.

It was learnt that on entering one of the classrooms where the caller was waiting she felt dizzy after which she was given “something to drink,” which made her to totally sleep off.

Before then, according to findings, her phone was taken, the SIM card was removed, and all information in the phone was deleted.

Tinubu Rejoices with Renowned Academic, Olatunji Dare, at 79

Deji Elumoye inAbuja

President Bola Tinubu has rejoiced with renowned academic and celebrated newspaper columnist, Prof Olatunji Dare, on the occasion of his 79th birthday. Professor Dare, a distinguished scholar in the field of communication, author and satirist, is known for his piercing commentaries on social and political issues.

In his goodwill message,

President Tinubu, according to a release issued yesterday by his Special Adviser on Special Duties, Communications and Strategy, Mr Dele Alake, recalled the many years of devotion to academic excellence and knowledge production by the Emeritus Professor of Bradley University, Illinois, United States and contributions to the media practice as a columnist, Chairman of Editorial Board of Guardian Newspaper and columnist with The Nation Newspaper.

Gombe Gov Inaugurates Special Honorary Advisory Council

Gombe State Governor, Alhaji Muhammadu Yahaya, has inaugurated a 10-member special Honourary Advisory Council to guide the implementation of his government’s ‘good policies and programmes’ in his avowed commitment to turn challenges in the state into opportunities and provide effective solutions to the

problems facing the state.

This is as he tasked the members to lend their “exceptional expertise” towards the development of the state to greater heights in the country. The committee, which comprises seasoned technocrats and well-accomplished experts and professionals in various fields of human endeavour, is the first of its kind in the history of Gombe State.

He said: “Information revealed that the truck was hijacked at gunpoint by unidentified persons last Friday at Obiliokite in Delta

State.

“The armed criminals, on sighting the joint patrol comprising of the police and vigilantes on the

Onitsha-Owerri expressway, pulled off the road at Okija, abandoned the truck, and fled.

Ikenga quoted the state

Commissioner of Police, CP Aderemi Adeoye, as having ordered a manhunt for the gunmen.

Ogun: PDP Witness Blames Lawyer for Repetition, Similarities in Statements

James

As the hearing of the petition filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) against the return of the Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun, in the March 18 governorship election resumed

yesterday, witnesses have blamed the opposition party’s similarities in the witnesses’ statements.

A witness, Mrs. Mulikat Yemi, from Ota, while admitting similarities in her statement with another witness, Balogun Olanrewaju, during cross-

examination by the counsel to INEC, including the same error and omission in paragraph 6 of their statements, told the tribunal to question her lawyer for the repetition.

One other witness, Thomas Abiodun, a photographer, who

appeared before the panel for the party from Iyesi-Ota in Ado Odo Ota Local Government Area, claimed to have signed the statement he presented on June 16, whereas the statement was actually signed on April 6.

Court Adjourns Trial of Lagos Plastic Surgeon to October 24

Wale Igbintade

A Federal High Court in Lagos yesterday adjourned proceedings until October 24 for adoption of written addresses in the trial of a surgeon Dr. Anuoluwapo Adepoju, who is charged

with alleged evasion from investigation into a failed plastic surgery by the Federal Competition and Consumers Protection Commission (FCCPC).

The case, which was scheduled for adoption of addresses yesterday, could

not go on.

Adepoju is standing trial alongside her clinic, the MedContour Services Limited, on a five-count charge bordering on refusal to honour an invitation for investigation into a post-body surgery complications, as well

as production of investigation documents. She was re-arraigned on July 17, 2020, alongside her medical outfit before Justice Mohammed Liman where she pleaded not guilty to the charges and was granted bail on self recognisance.

Association Harps on Policies, Legislative Measures to Support Orphans

KuniTyessi inAbuja

The Association of Orphanages and Home Operators in Nigeria (ASOHON) has called on the 10th Assembly to make favourable and implementable policies that will see to the welfare of orphans in the country.

The association at its general conference held in Abuja gave eight areas of partnership which, according to it, would change the negative perception of orphanages and the misconception that they are solely responsible for the high number of vulnerable children.

The National President,

ASOHON, Dr. Gabriel Oyediji, in his speech with the theme

“Advocating change: policy and legislative measures in support of orphans’ welfare in Nigeria,” said the legislative policies and frameworks are expected to define the rights and protection of orphans, including access to education, healthcare,

inheritance and legal representation amongst others.

“We are advocating legislative policies and measures that establishe comprehensive legal frameworks that define the rights and protection of orphans, including access to education, healthcare, inheritance, and legal representation.

First Lady, Ajose Foundation, Others Offer Free Medical Treatments to Ogun Indigenes

Sunday Okobi

Over 120 indigent patients in dire need of health services across communities in Ogun State have received various kinds of medical treatments, including surgeries, through a medical mission initiated by a team of

medical doctors from the United States in collaboration with Ajose Foundation and the Office of the Ogun State First Lady.

The state First Lady, Mrs. Bamidele Abiodun, during the inspection of the medical operations at the Olabisi Onabanjo Teaching Hospital, Sagamu

recently told journalists that the programme was committed to extending medical services to people who could not afford to pay for their medical interventions, adding that thousands of patients had medical check-ups and were given free drugs and supplements.

She said: “We have been partnering Naykas Health Care Inc., United States, which came with over 20 doctors.”

Mrs. Abiodun commended the organisers and sponsors for giving back to society, urging the people to pay greater attention to their health at all times.

Tech Expert Backs Agric Revolution, Supports Credit Facility for Farmers

Ayodeji Ake

A tech expert, Mr. Tunde Kelani, has identified agricultural revolution as a means of diversifying the Nigerian economy and called for credit facilities and security for farmers.

Kelani identified the need to build the agro communities for sustainable

development and providing a techfriendly relationship with farmers within an ecosystem that provides their needs.

He said during a press conference in Lagos that “at Crust Africa, we are focused on building digital payments for everyone in the agriculture value chain.

“We envision a world where farmers, commodity traders, food processors, exporters, and everyone else who works in the agro space can interact within a financial ecosystem that is targeted at solving their needs. As the vice president of Growth, I have been able to drive significant customer

acquisition and profitability.

“Our aim is to empower farmers with access to financial services and create sustainable growth in these communities. We plan to expand our reach across Africa this year, improving financial inclusion, and positively impacting the lives of millions.”

Amotekun Arrests 28 Suspects for Terrorising Ondo

Fidelis David in Akure

Operatives of the Western Security Network Agency codenamed Amotekun in Ondo State have apprehended 28 suspects for crimes ranging

from kidnapping, rape, illegal possession of firearms, cultism, and house-breaking among others.

The state Commander of Amotekun, Mr. Adetunji Adeleye, while parading the

suspects at the Command’s headquarters in Akure, yesterday, said the suspects were arrested across the local government areas of the state in the last three weeks.

While giving a breakdown

on the number of the suspects, Adeleye said 18 were arrested for kidnapping while 10 were arrested for illegal possession of firearms, cult activity, and house-breaking among others.

Sowole in Abeokuta

Segun Awofadeji inGombe

L-R: President, Ndigboamaka Progressive Markets Association, Comrade Chinedu Ukatu; Deputy Speaker, Federal House of Representatives, Hon. Benjamin Okezie Kalu, and National Grand Patron, Ndigboamaka Progressive Markets Association, Prof. Obiora Okonkwo Dikeora, at the all Markets Conference 2023 in Lagos…recently

Ogunmodede Fined N.25m for Calling on Remo Stars to Abandon Final

Duro Ikhazuagbe

For protesting against a bad call during the final of the Naija Super 8 between his team, Remo Stars and Sporting Lagos, Head Coach, Daniel Ogumodede, has been fined N250, 000 by the organisers of the tournament for inappropriate conduct.

With Sporting Lagos leading 1-0, Remo Stars scored to cancel out Sporting’s advantage but the centre referee after consulting the

NAIJA SUPER 8

Assistant Referee 1, ruled the goal to have been scored from an offside position.

But Coach Ogunmodede ordered his players to abandon the rest of the game. Remo Stars players ignored the order and went ahead to score another goal that dragged the game into shootouts. They unfortunately lost 4-2 in the lottery game.

Even before making a pronouncement on what punishment to mete out to the Assistant Referee 1 who attempted to drag the game into disrepute, organisers of the tournament, Flykite Productions said in the statement that it was on the account of Ogumodede's decision to order his players off the pitch over an officiating call he disagreed with that he has been slammed with the N250,000 fine.

"We find unacceptable the conduct of Mr. Daniel Ogumodede,

head coach of Remo Stars, in ordering his players to leave the pitch in protest against an officiating decision in the final match of Naija Super 8.

"His conduct, which displeased many top football authorities in attendance, was witnessed by a continent-wide audience watching on television.

"While we understand that there may be grounds for disagreeing with refereeing decisions, ordering a pitch walk-off is an inappropriate way to address such.

Mbappe to Meet PSG Owner Today Amid Transfer Uncertainty

Paris Saint-Germain President, Nasser

Al-Khelaifi, will come face to face with Kylian Mbappe today for first time since the French national team star sent in letter asking to be allowed to join another club.

Mbappe sent a letter to PSG in June stating he had no intention of extending his contract, which expires in 2024, meaning he could leave for free next summer - a situation club President, Al-Khelaifi, is desperate to avoid.

The France striker later clarified he had not asked the club to allow him to move to Spanish giants Real Madrid, who have tried and failed to land him in the past.

He has been given a deadline of July 31 to commit to staying at PSG until at least the summer of 2025, otherwise he will be sold to the highest bidder next month.

Al-Khelaifi will give a speech to the full squad at their new £250m training ground today, where he will stress the importance of PSG as an institution and the squad giving their full support to new head coach Luis Enrique.

Mbappe returned to PSG training on Monday for the first time since he told the club he was leaving when his contract runs out next summer. He had standard medical checks and will resume full training this morning.

PSG squad members who played for their countries in June did not have to return until yesterday.

Man Utd Reach £46m Agreement with Inter to Sign Onana

Manchester United have reached an agreement with Inter for the transfer of goalkeeper Andre Onana.

The Cameroon international has been established as United's first choice goalkeeping target and long-term successor to David de Gea, who saw his contract expire and left the club earlier this month. United have been in discussions with Inter over recent days to come to a deal over the transfer of the 27-year-old.

Inter had been holding out for €60m and had knocked back two offers from United for Onana, but a deal has now been reached after further talks. It's understood United have committed to paying €54m (£46m) inclusive of add-ons to secure Onana's services. The add-ons themselves are worth €4m of that fee, and while all payment terms are yet to be finalised there are no forecasted issues.

United have already agreed personal terms with Onana, who has previously worked with United manager Erik ten Hag at Ajax, and a deal is now expected to progress to completion quickly. Onana will

travel to United's Carrington training base and undergo a medical before signing what is understood to be a five-year contract with an option for a further year.

Onana is set to earn a base salary of around £120,000-a-week, with bonuses and appearance fees taking it to within the region of £150,000.

It is a substantial decrease for a United number one goalkeeper in comparison to De Gea's wages - with the Spaniard earning in the region of £375,000 a week across his last contract.

The deal is structured in a similar

manner to those of Lisandro Martinez and Antony, who both arrived last summer, and is set to increase to closer to £200,000 a week as the deal progresses. United have been conscious to reduce the wages they are offering even to first team players in recent transfer windows, with existing contracts for Harry Maguire and Aaron Wan-Bissaka so substantial United have found it difficult to move the players on.

Onana has been established as United's top priority in goal in recent weeks, after the club pivoted away from extending the

"The Rules and Regulations document handed to every participating club states the process for disputing such calls and does not include leaving the pitch in protest.

"Mr. Ogumodede's club acknowledged the receipt of the document, which also prescribes sanctions for officials deemed by the Naija Super 8 Technical Advisory to have erred.

"Had the players not shown maturity, which Mr. Ogumodede should epitomise, the tournament would have been brought to an inconclusive end a potential room for fan violence.

"In view of this, we have imposed a fine of N250, 000 on Mr. Ogumodede for his inappropriate conduct," the statement said.

Unofficial source at Remo Stars hinted yesterday that the privately owned Ikenne based club was awaiting the disciplinary decision on the Assistant Referee 1 who unjustly denied the club a legally scored goal.

NFF Tasks League Boards to Sustain Domestic Football Momentum

Following the recent gains in the domestic football scenes, the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), has charged chairmen and members of the newly-constituted Boards of the Nigeria National League, Nigeria Nation-Wide League One and the Nigeria Women Football League to come up with feasible plans and marketing strategies that will take Nigeria’s domestic football to new heights.

At the inauguration of the Boards inside the Conference Room of the NFF yesterday afternoon, NFF President, Alhaji Ibrahim Gusau said that the boards should have clear plans on how to sustain organization of matches and generally fulfil its responsibilities before the commencement of any season.

“We have picked men and women of high calibre, integrity and drive in order that we will have sustainable Leagues. We do not want a situation whereby a league will get to the middle of the season and be saying there is no longer money to run its programmes. We believe we have, in the new boards, men and women who can turn things around.

“I am indeed happy to be here performing this action this afternoon, at a time and period that our domestic football is gain-

ing fresh momentum thanks to the impressive organization of the Nigeria Premier Football League in the recently-concluded season, and also the colour, razzmatazz and positive vibes from the Super 6 of the NPFL, the NWFL and the NNL, and the pre-season Naija Super 8 Tournament that ended in Lagos at the weekend

“Therefore, the task of the new Boards of the different Leagues is to ensure that the momentum is not only sustained, but greatly enhanced in order to take Nigeria domestic football to new heights of excellence.”

The NFF supremo insisted that the Leagues are the drivers of the domestic game, and must do the job of transforming the game of football in Nigeria to a robust and profitable business.

“The Nigeria Football Federation is determined that our football should be developed from the grassroots, with so much focus on young players, young referees and young coaches. While we will put up the policies, the Boards of the Leagues will have to put in the energy and drive to implement these policies and generally improve the lot of the domestic game.

“Last year, the Federal Govern-

contract of De Gea due to a drop off in performances in the final months of last season. Ten Hag has been behind the decision and wants to see United improve their ability to distribute from the goalkeeper - a key quality in Onana's game.

United are also in the market for a second goalkeeper to become Onana's understudy.

The deal for Onana being reached unlocks the door for Dean Henderson to move to Nottingham Forest in a deal worth around £20m. Tom Heaton is also attracting interest from the likes of Everton and Luton Town.

Finidi Not Affected by Abia Govt’s Sack of Enyimba Staff

Abia State government has directed board members of the state’s agencies, including Enyimba International FC to to reapply for the positions.

Enyimba’s management changed hands for the first time in 23 years with Felix Anyasi-Awgu giving way for former Nigerian and Arsenal legend, Nwankwo Kanu to step into saddle.

Although all the staff of Enyimba were asked to reapply for their posts, Kanu was reported to have confirmed that Head Coach of the team, Finidi George was not affected by the directive.

Sporting Director of Enyimba, Ifeanyi Ekweme, signed the statement asking all the backroom staff to reapply . The statement which was

Mangut Bids Emotional Farewell to Rangers

titled: “Application for Re-absorption into Enyimba Management” sent shocking waves through the football world as a 48-hour ultimatum was issued to ensure compliance.

Finidi’s contract with the club ended this summer and there has been a offer on the table for him before the sack of the former Chairman of the club.

Newly appointed Technical Adviser of 2017 NPFL champions, Plateau United, Coach Mbwas Mangut, who until his appointment, was the chief coach of Rangers International F.C, has penned an emotional farewell message to management, coaches, staff, and supporters of the ‘Flying Antelopes’ as he brings to an end his romance with the Enugu side. Mangut, who joined the coaching ranks of the Enugu side some four seasons back and assisted the duo of coach Salisu Yusuf and Abdul Maikaba that led the team to the final match of the 2023 Federation Cup that took place in Asaba on June 21, 2023, was full of praises for the team for giving him the platform to showcase his God-given talent.

“First and foremost, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to the government and people of Enugu State, management, and other coaches for their support. It has been four solid years of great experience and will live with me throughout my

career. Our shared laughter, hard work, and dedication have made each day in training and competitive matches an incredible adventure.

“I will forever cherish the memories we have created together and the bonds we have formed. Thank you for your unwavering support and for always pushing me to be the best of what I love doing,” stated the former Wikki Tourists, Heartland, and Delta Force gaffer.

The young tactician continued, “Rangers International F.C. will always be in my heart for the care, love, and support I received since I joined the team and I can say categorically that I felt at home and will cherish this all my life. I’m pleased to bid farewell at this stage of my career and I’m also very excited to leave at this stage and would have loved to do more for the club but at this moment, I have to answer the clarion call to serve my people. I wish Rangers the very best in their future endeavors.”

Kylian Mbappe...to meet PSG supremo today on his plan to exit the French capital city club

Daniel Ogunmodede...slammed with N250,000 fine for asking Remo Stars to abandon the Naija Super 8 final at the Mobolaji Johnson Arena on Sunday evening

APC Zonal Women Leaders to Beta Edu

“It is very pertinent we express our total displeasure and concern over the misrepresentation and self aggrandisement of the National Woman Leader, Dr. Beta Edu visit to the Presidential Villa...We wish to state categorically and in strong terms that her visit was a misrepresentation as she in no way represents the elected national women officials and zonal women leaders of the party...We were totally unaware of her Presidential visit…”

---APCZonalWomenLeaderspassingvoteofnoconfidenceonBetaEdu.

TUESDAY WITH REUBEN ABATI

abati1990@gmail.com

Ayu, Adamu and Nigeria’s Political Party System

One of the major issues begging for consideration as Nigeria and other stakeholders review the aftermath of the country’s 2023 General elections would definitely be the health of Nigeria’s political party system. It is a matter of fact that by the 90s, in an attempt to stem the tide of communism, one party states, and dictatorships around the world, the West recommended and supported multi-party democracy as the way forward, to ensure participation, inclusion, and fairness. This was packaged as a pill to address the menace of one-party states and authoritarianism and indeed many African countries, including Nigeria bought into it, and even went a step further to fashion our democracy after the American model.

For Nigeria, this was particularly instructive: in the First Republic, Nigeria had multiple political parties with strong, cultural, ethnic, and ideological identities, serving as major forces for social and political action, mobilizing the people on ideological grounds, and promoting democratic participation. The political system in Nigeria at that period may not have guaranteed stability, but it served as an intermediary with the people, and as a major force between the state and society. This came abruptly to an end in January 1966, with the intervention of the military and the emergence of Decree No 1 of 1966 which summarily imposed a unitary system on the country and abolished all existing political and cultural groups. The onset of military rule subsequently merely served the purpose of further truncating the growth of the country’s political system as a mechanism for social bonding, political choice and competition. The Murtala/Obasanjo administration of 1975-76, -1979 eventually completed the tortuous course of a military to civilian transition.

It was Obasanjo’s lot to see that through in 1979, amidst a cloud of arguments and litigation. The military had spent up to 12/13 years in power. They could not exactly be trusted. The politicians themselves could not be trusted. The emergent political parties had retained the ideological persona of old. It was possible to link the NPN, the NPP, the GNPP, the PRP and the Action Group to specific identities and ideologies. But something had also been omitted. The political parties became platforms for self-aggrandizement, and a play-ground for big men, with large egos. Nowhere was this more evident than in the then ruling party, the National Party of Nigeria (NPN). The Chairman of the Party, A.M.A Akinloye had his name embossed on bottles of champagne. One Minister at the time in charge of transportation and head of the Presidential Task Force on Rice, Umaru Dikko, also an NPN party chieftain said Nigerians were lucky because nobody was eating from the dustbin. It didn’t take long before the dust bin would become the dinner table for many Nigerians and Dikko himself ran away and had to be intercepted and put in a crate to be summarily smuggled back to Nigeria as “diplomatic baggage.” He was lucky he escaped!

In 1983, the return to democracy failed and for another 16 years (Generals M. Buhari to I. Babangida, to S. Abacha to Abdusalami Abukakar), Nigeria was in the grips of military rule, with the soldiers dictating their own version of democracy. They chose everything, including the number of political parties, their logos, party chairmen and for how long they could be in power. Between 1983 and 1993, and thereafter, the military’s disdain for civilian rule was writ large, but they had civilian collaborators throughout that ugly season being the stomach-driven characters in every nook and cranny of Nigeria who would do anything for a mess of porridge. Political parties, party members and their chairmen became puppets in the hands of the military. This was in part what gave the Nigerian military the courage to annul the democratic elections of 1993. It was their underestimation of the people’s will, the determination of some of the political actors led by Chief MKO Abiola and the resolve of the international community that propelled Nigeria back to civilian rule in 1999.

Over the years, something had died along the line: the integrity of political parties as major building blocks in the process of democratic consolidation. Our political parties had become caricatures, and tools for the promotion of authoritarianism, thus emerging as

regressive political parties that could be hijacked or compromised by particular interest formations. The failure to have a stable democratic party system has foregrounded the need to rethink the nature of the political party systems not just in Nigeria however, but also in other African countries where multi-party system democracy has not checked the appetite for dictatorship. Truly, in many African countries, inter and intra-party crises have been the bane of political instability, creating a situation whereby questions are now being raised about democracy in a number of African countries: Mali, Niger, Sudan, Burkina Faso, Guinea Bissau. Nigeria is a bit more resilient than other African countries, given its size, and complexity, but it is time we began to worry about the fragility of our political party system beyond the centrifugal elements implanted therein by the military and which have remained enduring.

The foregoing reflection is inspired as you may now imagine by the travails of the Chairman and National Secretary of the ruling party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), namely Senator Abdullahi Adamu, and Senator Iyiola Omisore who reportedly had to resign from their positions on the orders of President Bola Tinubu, 24 hours to the party’s scheduled meetings of the National caucus and National Working Committee (NWC). To many observers of the Nigerian political scene, this probably did not come as a surprise. Senator Adamu had used his own mouth to crucify himself the other week, when he came out publicly to claim credit for the victory of the APC and President Bola Tinubu, albeit still a matter of litigation, in the 2023 General Elections. He said he did not support President Tinubu during the APC party’s primaries in 2022, but that he was at liberty to support Senator Ahmad Lawan or anyone else. However, Tinubu having emerged, he mobilized the party under his watch to deliver victory for the party. He asked to be praised,not vilified. The Presidential order that he and his National Secretary should hand in their resignation letters and stand down is “the praise” he has now received. With due respect, Senator Adamu made himself a target, he fell upon the sword of his own indiscretion. Now, he is being accused of mismanaging party funds. He even made the additional mistake of being seen to have complained about the President’s choice of party leaders in the National Assembly. He had to be given a soft landing by Tinubu’s allies who asked him to resign or taste disgrace at the party’s scheduled meetings. But nonetheless, this is a battle for the soul of the APC, for a control of the party by the new power brokers in town, a further indication of the “emilokan ideology of power.” When the APC emerged in 2014, it was an amalgam of unusual bedfellows – the CPC, the old ANPP (that is the Buhari wing), the Action for National Congress (ANC), that is the Tinubu wing, the new PDP (led by Bukola Saraki and a number of other fringe, come-and join smaller coalitions). Bola Tinubu was the arrow-head of that entire process, which is

why he could boast that he made Buhari President.

As events unfolded in the last eight years, the Bukola Saraki wing of the coalition was the first to fall aside. The Buhari wing that was in charge used the power that had been thrown into their laps with almost primordial obsession. At a point, even Tinubu, the kingmaker, began to look like a spectator. His resolve to take back what he made available to others marks a strictly Machiavellian chapter in contemporary Nigerian politics. Certainly, there were bound to be casualties. The Chairman of the Party, Adamu tilted towards the CPC wing as did others: it would be naive for them to think they would survive. The worse part of it is that Tinubu’s allies are also even accusing Adamu of being a tyrant and they are asking him to account for some party funds that are allegedly missing. Tinubu and his allies are bent on house-cleaning! There would be more casualties. By the time they are done, the APC would be a version of the ACN, not CPC. Buhari’s people would probably end up begging. It is called party politics, the worst variety that we have seen since the first political party, Herbert Macaulay’s NNDP, emerged in this country in 1923. But it is not only the ruling APC that confronts us with the crisis in Nigeria’s political system. Before now, the rival People’s Democratic Party (PDP) had to deal with its own version of chaos. In March 2023, Dr Iyorchia Ayu, then PDP Chairman, was barred from parading himself any further as National Chairman of the party on the basis of an ex parte, interim injunction granted by Judge M. I. Ikpochi of Benue State High Court, ruling in favour of a prayer to that effect brought by members of the Igorov ward in Benue State. Members of Ayu’s ward at home said he had not been paying his membership dues hence they were expelling him as a member of the party. Dr. Ayu confidently said he would obey the court and pursue the matter in court. And so he did. But in the first week of June 2023, his case was worsened when the Chief Judge of Benue State, Maurice Ikpanbese upheld the earlier ruling and annulled Ayu’s membership of the PDP. Effectively, Dr. Ayu, former Chairman of the PDP is today no longer a member of the party except he goes on appeal, and hopes to secure victory.

Anyone that is familiar with recent politics within that party would easily connect the dots and surmise that Dr. Ayu is paying a price for not supporting former Governor Nyesom Wike’s ambition to be the flagbearer of the PDP in 2022, ahead of the elections. He even had the temerity of openly supporting Atiku Abubakar and going to visit former Governor of Sokoto State, Aminu Tambuwal the day after the convention to declare him a messiah. The fall-out was that a group of five Governors led by Nyesom Wike, who became known as the G-5 swore that Ayu must be removed as PDP Chairman. They soon found other allies and they swore that they would block the chosen Presidential candidate of the party, Atiku Abubakar from winning in their states or becoming President of Nigeria. Their conscientious objection was clad in the garb of a preference for power

rotation, the rule of law, and the alleged immorality of having the Chairman of the Party and the Presidential candidate coming from the same zone or a Northerner succeeding another Northerner as President of Nigeria. The G5, or the Integrity Group as the expanded body became known took their pound of flesh. The PDP lost the Presidential election. Ayu was politicked out of office. In many ways, his story is similar to that of Senator Abdullahi Adamu of the APC. Party Chairmen may talk as they wish about party supremacy but in Nigeria’s political parties, supremacy belongs to powerful individuals and forces within the party. Senator Abdullahi Adamu’s problems began earlier when the party’s National Vice Chairman (North-West) began to complain that he was running a one-man show. In 2015, Adamu Muazu lost his Chairmanship position in the PDP and was even accused of helping the opposition to win!.

The other political parties are not immune either. Shortly after the general elections, the Chairman of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNNP) tendered his letter of resignation, saying he wanted to give room for “fresh hands” to take over. Professor Alkali didn’t say more than that, but in a country where nobody wants any “fresh hands” to touch anything; that was quite loaded. He said clearly though, that the NNPP needed to be re-organized. But consider also the crisis in the Labour Party, the same party that everyone had praised and supported for putting up a remarkable performance in the elections. It didn’t take long before an intra-party crisis engulfed the party at both national and state levels, leading to litigations, name-calling, conspiracy theories, threats and abuses. The same party that was generally described as a “Third Force” in Nigerian politics splintered into factions. Rival Chairmen of the party and their supporters even fought in court premises.

It seems to me that the biggest threat to Nigerian democracy is how our political parties have not been able to extricate themselves from the stranglehold of the damage done to them by the military elite. This is partly why they are prostrate, redundant, and have failed as intermediaries. Every political party is driven by the ambition of an individual or a cartel. The individuals turn the parties into Special Purpose Vehicles for their own ambitions. They select those who run the parties, and they make the funds available. In the past, the parties existed on an “equal founder, equal joiner basis”. Members had membership cards and paid membership dues. These days, members wait for a rich individual to fund the party. The man with the deep pocket who funds the party appoints and disappoints as Nyesom Wike did to Prince Uche Secundus, former Chairman of the PDP and Iyorchia Ayu after him, and as Tinubu has done to Senator Adamu who got so bold as to question his ambition at a point. The men who emerge as party leaders are themselves driven by personal ambition. They want to be big men and hug the limelight. Who knows the Chairman of the Republican Party in the United States? I don’t see the American press discussing the Chairman of the Democratic Party either as an all-year round celebrity. Here, party officials are busy seeking relevance. When their sponsors win elections or see that they are beginning to develop a mind of their own, they drop them quickly. Parties are useful platforms for winning elections as defined in Section 221 of the 1999 Constitution, but after the party wins, nobody takes party supremacy seriously anymore here, especially in the absence of independent candidacy. It is assumed that the party Chairman and his allies have been paid for their services.

The dilemma of political parties could not have been better illustrated than the shabby treatment of party Chairmen across board since the return to democracy in 1999. Because the parties are weak, many of them come and go. After the 2019 general elections, the Electoral Commission, INEC, deregistered as many as 74 political parties for not winning a seat anywhere. In 2023, we had 17 registered political parties in the election, only 10 got a seat here and there, with the APC and the PDP being the more dominant parties. Our political party system is in urgent need of reform to prevent the prospect of a one-party state, in the hands of dictators whose personal will may be imposed on the entire state. In the meantime, let no one shed any tears for the fallen party bosses.

AyuAdamu