WEDNESDAY 17TH AUGUST 2022

INAUGURATION/LAUNCH

www.thisdaylive.com Wednesday 17 August, 2022 Vol 27. No 9990. Price: N250

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L-R: Chief Executive Officer of Access Corporation, Herbert Wigwe; Director DPH Morenike Alex-Okoh; Catholic Archbishop of Abuja John Cardinal Onaiyekan; Minister of State for Health, Ekunmankama Joseph Nkama; Minister of Health , Dr. Osagie Ehanire, President of Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote and President Muhammadu Buhari at the inauguration of Nigeria End Malaria Council (NEMC) at the Conference Center of the Presidential Villa , Abuja….yesterday

TRUTH & REASON the nation about N2 trillion by yearSpeaking2030. yesterday, at the State House, Abuja, while inaugurating a 16-man Nigeria End Malaria Council (EMC) headed by the founder and President of the Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, Buhari stressed that the successful implementation of the Council’s agenda and savings from the estimated economic burden of malaria disease could save Nigeria about N687 billion in 2022 and N2 trillion by 2030. The president emphasised that beyond improving the quality of life, health and well-being of Nigerians, the concerted strategy to tackle malaria had both public health as well as socio-economic benefits for Nigeria. He said: ‘‘Our inauguration today will therefore ensure that Meeting Ends in Deadlock Page 43 malaria elimination remains a priority on our agenda, with strong political commitment from leaders at all levels.

Chuks Okocha and Kingsley Nwezeh in Abuja Former spokesman of the Nigerian Army, Brig.-Gen. Kukasheka Usman (rtd), yesterday, spilled an untold story that would shock many Nigerians, as he revealed how ex-Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Abdulrahman Dambazau (rtd), was pressured to topple President Goodluck Jonathan following the passing of President Umaru Yar'Adua in 2010. Usman made the disclosure in Abuja at the 2022 Blueprint Newspapers Annual Public Lectures and Impact Series/Award. He said Dambazau not only resisted the pressure from people the former army spokesperson described as enemies of Nigeria, but he also promised the international community, which got wind of the development, he would do no such thing. of the National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC) for a five-year tenure. In another development, the

Matawalle bans political activities, rallies Buhari mames Rear Admiral Musa as pioneer coordinator for national counter terrorism centre Deji Elumoye in Abuja, Francis Sardauna in Katsina, John Shiklam in Kaduna and Onuminya Innocent in Sokoto

Buhari: Eliminating Malaria by 2030 Will Save Nigeria N2trn

In New Zamfara Law, Terrorists, Informants, Kidnappers Face Death Penalty

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Usman: How Dambazau Resisted Pressure to Topple Jonathan

PHOTO: GODWIN OMOIGUI

Zamfara State Governor Bello Matawalle has signed into law a bill prescribing the death sentence for bandits, kidnappers, cattle rustlers, cultists and other criminals, including their informants, as part of his administration's efforts to end insecurity in the state. Matawalle also banned all political activities, including gatherings and rallies, in the state pending the official commencement of electioneering, as contained in the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) 2023 election timetable.Thatwas as President Muhammadu Buhari approved the appointment of Rear Admiral Yaminu Musa (rtd) as pioneer Coordinator Says he made a promise to international community he wouldn’t Ex-army chief proposes drastic reform of entire security sector Declares size of military, police inadequate for Nigeria's population Buni cautions against hate speech, says nation’s interest uppermost Nationwide Blackout as TCN Begs Workers to Suspend Planned Strike...

OF THE NIGERIA END MALARIA COUNCIL...

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Discos Alert on

Deji Elumoye in Abuja President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday declared that the successful elimination of malaria in Nigeria was projected to save Dangote inaugurated as chairman of council to eradicate scourge

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“On the other two issues — circular from the office of Head of Service (HoS) on stigmatisation of the defunct Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) staff and payment of entitlement of ex-PHCN staff by market operator — the management has contacted the honourable minister of power for his further action. “In view of this development, we appeal to your union to stay action; please accept the assurances of our highest regards.”

Peter Uzoho The Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON) has blamed the proliferation of substandard solar systems and solutions into the country on a federal government's directive that chased the agency out of the port of entry of those products in the last five years. The Director of Marketing at SON, Mr. Richard Adewunmi, revealed this yesterday in Lagos, in his remark at the Gennex Col loquium 2022, with the theme: "Delivering Sustainable Energy Access across Africa." This was just as some of the solar practitioners at the event commended the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Bank of Industry (BOI), Renewable Energy Agency (REA) as well as Shell, TotalEnergies and Seplat Energy for their supports and commitments toward the growth and adoption of renewable energy in Nigeria. They also called for the govern ment to create an enabling environment and introduce policies that would lead to massive investment inflows into the sector and deepen the penetration of solar energy in theRespondingcountry. to the issue of proliferation of substandard solar home systems and unqualified solar installers in the country, Adewunmi, who said those were major challenges facing the sector, stated that the situation worsened in the last five years when SON was kicked out of the ports by theHegovernment.saidtheagency had been in the forefront of fighting sub standard solar products entering the country and had developed a code of practice for the industry operators, adding that their ejection from the ports led to the high rate of substandard solar products entering theAdewunmicountry. explained, "On the issue of managing the products, I've said it more than four years ago, that from the way things are done in Nigeria, people will begin to develop apathy towards solar systems. Why am I saying this? The proliferation of installers has been a major problem in Nigeria today. "About four years ago, we also worked on the Code of Practice for the deployment of this. We invited stakeholders, we worked on it. But the major challenge actually we have is that, for more than four or five years now, we have not been at the source of these products coming into the country. “The government chased us out of the port, and when you go to the open market to arrest people that are producing substandard products, you are only killing an individual's business. "If somebody brings a 10-con tainer load and escapes from the port, in less than 24 hours, he would have sold everything out, pocket his money: one person buys five, another one buys 10, and you now go to their shops and start seizing it, you have not done the right thing. You are kicking people out of Hebusiness."saidanother challenge facing the agency and the solar sector was that those engaging in the sharp practices had succeeded in bypassing the pre-shipment arrangement which was tied to a certain CBN's Form M, where those products are tested abroad before they are shipped into Nigeria.

Discos Alert on Nationwide Blackout as TCN Begs Workers to Suspend Planned Strike

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In addition, Minister of State, Jedy-Agba, , in a letter dated August 15, told the union that the ministry was committed to proffering solutions that would be acceptable to all parties concerned. “May we appeal to your great union to allow us two weeks from the date of this letter to address the issues and come up with proposals toward acceptable resolution of all issues,” he said. Earlier, NUEE, through its Secretary General, Joe Ajaero, said the picketing was to challenge a directive by the TCN board that all principal managers in acting capacity upgrading to acting-general manager capacity must appear for a promotion interview. The union said the directive was in contravention of the workers’ conditions of service and career progression paths, adding that “it was unilaterally done without the relevant stakeholders”.

L-R: Sen. Olaka Nwogu; former Reps, Mrs. Nnenna Elendu Ukeje; PDP South-South national vice chairman, Chief Dan Orbih; former Cross River State governor, Donald Duke; Abia State governor, Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu; Labour Party presidential candidate, Mr. Peter Obi;Rivers State governor, Nyesom Ezenwo Wike; Benue State governor, Samuel Ortom; former Ondo State governor, Olusegun Mimiko; Chief Ejor Ngowa Ejor and former Attorney General of the Federation, Mohammed Bello Adoke at Wike's residence in Rumueprikom, Rivers State on Monday night.

In a memo to its customers seen by THISDAY, Eko Electricity Distribution Company (EKEDC), said it anticipated that the industrial action, if it goes as planned may lead to disruption of power supply to electricity consumers across the nation.However, it reassured its custom ers that it was working with the relevant regulatory authorities and the parties involved to reach an amicable resolution and avert the strikeAlsoaction.yesterday, the Managing Director, TCN, Sule Abdulaziz, in a letter addressed to the workers asked the union to “stay action”,

The group also complained about the failure of the authorities to pay the entitlement of former staff of the defunct PHCN in December 2019.

assuring that TCN had taken steps to resolve the issues. He said: “We are pleased to inform you that management has suspended the proposed interview for those on acting appointment of assistant general, managers and general managers while we conclude discussion with the board.

James Emejo in Abuja

"But what do Nigerians do? They go to China with their cash, and so, they will now leave Form M and bring in these products, drop them at Benin Republic, overnight, they cross them to Nigeria. So, it's a lot of problem. "But just four weeks ago, the government gave us provisional approval for six months to go back to the port. They might kick us out again," the SON director stated. Responding to questions on what the government could do to support solar sector to thrive, the Sector Lead, Renewable Energy Sector, Sterling Bank, Mr. Seyi Okunuga, said he was aware that the federal and state governments had been supporting the sector through various initiatives and through various agencies of government. "As a bank, I understand how much the federal and state govern ments are doing to support the renewable energy sector in Nigeria. You talk about the CBN's Solar Niger Fund, for example, that is meant to power 250,000 people and homes.

The Electricity Distribution Companies (Discos) have alerted Nigerians to a likely nationwide blackout as the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) yesterday begged workers in the sector to suspend their proposed strike which commences today. The workers were said to be riled over the neglect of their welfare, with the National Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE) directing its members to picket offices of TCN on Tuesday, after which a strike action would begin.

How FG's Ejection of SON at Ports Led to Influx of Substandard Solar Systems into Nigeria FG Seeks to Bar Foreigners from BuyingFood Commodities at Farm Gate for export in some strategic locations nationwide and, carry out periodic assessments (quarterly) on the However,implementation.theChairman of the Committee, Mr. Suleman Audu, expressed the readiness and willingness of the body to provide the required leadership and coordination to ensure the efficient implementation of its mandate.

The Minister of Industry Trade and Investment, Mr. Adeniyi Adebayo, yesterday inaugurated an InterMinisterial Standing Committee to oversee the implementation of a memo on the “Promotion of Agri-Business in Nigeria through Right Farm Gate Pricing and Ban of Foreigners from Purchasing Agricultural Commodities at the FarmTheGates.”memo,was earlier approved by the Federal Executive Council (FEC) after it was jointly presented on March 9, by the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment and the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Adebayo,Development.explainedthat the move was part of the government's efforts to provide the enabling environment for the commodity sub-sector to thrive. The minister said the memo spe cifically seeks to address challenges impeding the development of the agricultural commodity subsector of the economy, curtail unfair trade malpractices and exploitation of Nigerian farmers by foreigners as well as promote competitive premium pricing as the impetus for increased productivity in the commodity subsector among others.THISDAY gathered that the practice of middle-men who usually mop up farm produce at source often contributed to rising food inflation as a result – as agricultural products are hoarded to cause artificial scarcity which would then lead to higher food prices. Also, in the process, farmers are often short-changed by the middle-men who enticed them with quick cash at the source of harvest.These practices had also been attributed to some of the reasons why food prices rarely fall even after the so-called bountiful harvests.Butthe latest intervention could slowdown food prices if properly implemented.Theminister, however, decried the exploitation of farmers by foreigners who come to Nigeria to mop up agricultural commodities at the farm gates and in turn offer farmers prices below market value. Adebayo said, "This situation has indeed led to the failure of many contractual agreements between farmers and indigenous off-takers. It has also affected the production capacity of our local factories due to the fact that foreigners buy off supplies and deprive the factories of required stocks. "The current practice of direct purchases of agricultural commodi ties at unfair prices by foreigners at our farm-gates poses serious dangers which include, reduction in farmers' income, declining pro ductivity in the agricultural sector, unemployment and insecurity.” He added, “A number of activities have been outlined for implementation and the committee is expected to ensure that they are properly articulated and implemented for the growth and development of our economy." The committee would also facilitate the establishment of en forcement organs in the states and local governments, and facilitate the signing of Executive Order by Mr. President, specifying penalties and fines for violators. It will further liaise with the state governments for the establishment of commodity aggregation centers

Move may rein in food inflationSolarpractitioners

Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja and Peter Uzoho in Lagos

hail CBN, BOI, REA, others over support to growth of sector

Continued online NEWSGroup News Editor: Goddy Egene Email: Goddy.egene@thisdaylive.com, 0803 350 6821, 0809 7777 322, 0807 401 0580 WIKE'S CAMP AND PETER OBI...

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has announced an upward adjust ment of the negotiable minimum interest rate payable on local currency savings deposits to 30 per cent of the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR). In September 2020, the central bank, as part of efforts to mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, had slashed the minimum interest rate payable on Naira savings deposits from 30 per cent of MPR to 10 per cent of TheMPR.bank had explained that the move was aimed at stimulating growth in the larger economy following the economic slowdown caused by the pandemic. The apex bank, in a letter ad dressed to all banks and titled, “Review of Interest Rate on Savings Deposits”, which was dated August 15, 2022 and signed CBN Director, Banking Supervision Department, Mr. Haruna Mustafa, stated that it became necessary to review the rate back to 30 per cent of MPR following the return of normalcy in the economy and considering the prevailing macroeconomic conditions.According to the CBN, the effec tive date for the implementation of the new circular was August 1, 2022 and further superseded the earlier correspondence on the subjectHowever,matter.CBN while an nouncing the reduction of the minimum interest rate payable on local currency savings deposits to 10 per cent of MPR last year, observed with satisfaction, the declining trends in market rates in the banking sector following the implementation of policies aimed at stimulating credit flows to the real sector among others. As a result, the apex bank reviewed interest payable on savings deposits as provided in its Guide to Charges by Banks, Other Financial and Non-Financial Institutions issued in December 2019.Consequently, the interest rate on local currency savings deposits was reduced to 10 per cent of MPR.

The international oil companies (IOCs) in Niger Delta region have been urged to release all unpaid funds accruing the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) since its establishment in 2000. This call was made in a state ment jointly signed and made available to journalists in Port Harcourt, by the Indigenous contractors of NDDC, "Niger Delta Indigenous Contractors Associa tion" (NDICA) and "Contractors Association of NDDC," after their meeting in Port Harcourt, Rivers state, on their visit to the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Obong UmanaEarlier,Umana.Patronof the group and former Senator in Bayelsa State, John Brambaifa also called on all NDDC contractors, consultants, others aggrieved with Commission over delayed contract payments to be patient and give the new Minister time to settle all lingering issues bothering on their payments. On his part, the Secretary General of the NDICA, Prince Sodinie recalled that the group was founded in year 2000 with the objective of proper coordination and monitoring of contracts and execution by indigenous contractors for quality delivery in accordance with the contract specification. In the resolution signed by the Acting National President, Chief Dressman Dalinton, after the review meeting, the contractors called on the IOCs to remit the funds to the federal government interventionist agency to enable it carry out statutory responsibilities in the region. The commission was entitled to a statutory three per cent fund from IOCs annual profits for the operations of the federal government interventionist agency in the However,region.the NDDC has always alleged non-compliance by the multinationals.Accordingto the statement, the people expressed confidence that the minister has un-questionable character and pedigree. "We calling on the IOCs to as a matter of urgency release monies due to the NDDC to enable the agency leave up to its responsibilities to her contractors," theyTheadded.NDDC is allegedly owing the contractors hundreds of billions of Thenaira.groups during the joint visit relieved their ordeal since the debts over six years now, which they said included loss of their members to death, loss of their key assets to banks, financial institutions, children education among others and appealed to him to look into their plight and save what is left of them and their families. The contractors after the meet ing with minister last week had declared confidence in his ability to address their problems, and other challenges in the commission.

RENDERING ACCOUNT TO ITS SHAREHOLDERS...

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L-R: Company Secretary, Jaiz Bank, Mohammed Shehu; Chairman, Jaiz Bank, Alhaji Umaru Abdulmutallab; Managing Director/Chief Executive, Jaiz Bank, Mallam Hassan Usman and Executive Director, Business Development, Jaiz Bank, Sirajo Salisu, during the Annual General Meeting of the bank in Abuja ... yesterday.

Paris Club Refunds: Malami Ramps Up Defence of Consultants

PHOTO: ENOCK REUBEN

Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja The Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr Abubakar Malami, yesterday ramped up his defence of con sultants in the controversial N418 million Paris Club Refund, insisting that he was only interested in the enforcement of a court judgment in favour of the private firms. But pressed on why he had taken a special interest in the case, Malami maintained that the ministry cannot fold its arms while a court judgment is being ignored which could lead to the litigants taking over government assets.

Says judgement tied to Nigeria’s foreign reserves Insists FG will be subject of ridicule if its assets are taken over Maintains he has no personal interest in $418m payment to private firms

The 36 state governors in coun try under the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) had last week, again resisted fresh moves to commence the deduction of the $418 million Paris Club consultancy fee refund allegedly owed four contractors from the federation account. In a letter to the federal govern ment through the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Mr. Boss Mustapha , dated August 1, the governors maintained that any renewed plan to begin the process which is being challenged in the courts and for which the Supreme Court has made pronouncement , would remain unconstitutional. In the official communication signed by the Chairman of the NGF, Mr Kayode Fayemi, who also doubles as the Governor of Ekiti State, the governors noted that it would appear that the allegiance of Malami and the Minister of Finance, Dr Zainab Ahmed, lay with the contractors rather than the Nigerian people. The governors described as suspicious the uncommon zeal and speed with which the two ministers were pursuing the cause of the four contractors, explaining that the latest attempt to stampede the Federal Executive Council (FEC) to approve the payment was a surreptitious way of breaching theButlaw.while appearing on the state-owned Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), Malami pointed out that Association of Local Government of Nigeria (ALGON) had actually instituted an action against his office, the minister of finance , the accountant general and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) seeking the payment of the monies to the consultants. He said that if the judgement is not obeyed, the court had ordered that the federal government assets should be taken over, while an action in 2015 was deliberately not contested by the local governments which the beneficiaries won. Malami said that in all the processes , there was no objection to the payment of the funds to the consultants by the parties, part of which was the legal fees incurred byHethem.noted that when the federal government was confronted with the judgment, it sought to know if there were fraudulent undertones and engaged the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Department of State Service ( DSS) for advice, but the feedback was that there wasHenone.noted that the point of contention being raised by the governors is that there was a change of leadership after which they sought non-execution of the judgment.Hereiterated that the governors signed independent letters of indemnity, insisting that it was a legal matter and not a social issue or economic issue as being peddled by the NGF. “When you are talking about the economic situation of the country, I think by prevailing laws, the governors are the custodians of such considerations. But what matters to the judiciary is the legality or otherwise of the issue in contention,” he added. Asked whether he was not interested in the liquidity of states and the current economic crisis, Malami stated that by the letters of indemnity, the governors had confirmed their liquidity and capacity to pay. While admitting that the system had been ridden with impunity, especially by the non-involvement of state houses of assembly before the governors chose to indemnify the payments, he lamented that the local governments had been relegated by the state governments. “ A situation whereby the governors forum operates as an island while in actual fact it is indeed meant to address the collective interest of Nigerians and allowing some vested personal interest to override public interest, that is the result of what we are seeing,” he explained. He insisted that after the governors received part payment from the Paris Club refund, they on their own took steps to pay the consultants, which he said, established the point that they are not contesting the payment. According to Malami, having engaged the consultants in their own rights, submitting to a consent judgement, effecting payment and providing a letter of no objection by ALGON and issuing letters of indemnity, the local councils and the governors had taken responsibility for their action. The minister argued that the federal government will be subjected to ridicule with its assets attached to the judgment, saying that the attorney general will not fold his arms and allow the takeover of government assets. The implication of the nonpayment of the debts, he said would best be appreciated when the March 2015 court order is studied, including an order of garnishee, which he said is absolute, indicating that 20 per cent fee should be paid to the consultants.“Thisisinclusive of the financial assets of the federal government, the foreign reserves and any other associated income in monetary sense deposited in the CBN,” he posited.Heexplained that going forward, there has to be a com promise on the existing judgement of the court, during which parties can sit down to discuss areas to make concessions. “ If by their collective under standing with the consultants today, the entire judgement debt is forgiven, then we don’t have any problem,” the minister stated.

James Emejo in Abuja

Indigenous Contractors Urge IOCs to Release NDDC's Withheld Unpaid Funds

CBN Raises Interest Rate on Naira Savings Deposits to 30% of MPR Blessing Ibunge in Port Harcourt

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Juliet Akoje in Abuja

The Public Account Committee of the House of Representatives yesterday has ordered the manage ment of the Nigeria Port Authority (NPA) to hold an immediate reconciliation meeting with terminal operators in the nation's ports with a view to determining the actual indebtedness by the companies to the federal government as contained in the various Audit queries from the office of the Auditor General of the Federation. The Chairman of the Committee Hon. Wole Oke ( PDP-Osun) gave the order following denial of one of the terminal operators listed by the NPA as being indebted to the Nigerian government to the tune of $4.04 million , Tincan Island Container Terminal which faulted the claims by the NPA management insisting that it was not owing the government a dime. The lawmaker who gave the directive at the resumed hearing of the 2019 Auditor General of the Federation report, said that the Bureau for Public Enterprise and some of the Committee members should be part of the reconciliation meeting.Okesaid the reconciliation became necessary to rest the controversy between the two parties, since there was a total disagreement over the debt as contained in the Report of the Auditor General of the federation. Tincan Island Container Terminal is one of the 18 terminal operators said to be indebted to the govern ment to the tune of $753 million. Earlier, he told the terminal operators that they were invited by the committee to state their own side of the story since the government was in dire need of money to meet certain obligations. "We invited the NPA and they have made their submission and gave us their breakdown of what the terminal operators is owing them and that they tried severally to recover the money. For fair hearing, we have invited you because we cannot shelve your head in your absence. "That is why we had to invite you so that we can hear your side your side of the story because we are at a cross road. Nigeria is looking for money. Our children are at home and we need to pay ASUU and we have other serious issues to attend to. You have heard how much you are owing based on NPA However,records"General Manager, Finance of the company, Kunle Adigun said his company was not owing the NPA and government a dime, while accusing the NPA of failing to respond to several letters calling for reconciliation betweenAccordingthem.tohim, "Several times, we have made several appeals for NPA to come to the table for us to discuss. We have been writing letters since 2015, but no response. Our anniversary date is June because we started operation June 1, 2006. So, if there is going to be any changes, it should take effect from June 1.”

"Deliver technical assistance to all states to support gaps in reform implementation and provide oppor tunities for structural development and institutionalisation of reforms across the country leveraging the PEBEC-NEC implementation structure."Rideon the back of State Fiscal Transparency, Accountability and Sustainability (SFTAS) Programme, which has created a mutual ac countability platform between the Federal Government and the States. The SABER will further consolidate and deepen gains from EoDB reforms implemented across the"Facilitatecountry. crowding-in private investments at scale, a key require ment for the achievement of Nigeria’s development priorities." Those present at the virtual PEBEC meeting include some of the Chairpersons of the Ease of Doing Business Council in various States across the country including Governors Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto State; Adegboyega Oyetola of Osun State; Deputy Governors of Abia, Cross River and Kaduna; Secretary to Anambra State Gov ernment; Federal Ministers who are members of the commission including the Industry, Trade and Investment Minister, Otunba Niyi Adebayo; Information & Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed; Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola and Foreign Affairs , Geoffrey Onyeama. Other present were the Commis sioners of Finance and Economic Development in Ekiti and Ogun, representatives of Governors, other Senior Government Officials as well as the World Bank Country Director in Nigeria, Mr. Shubaham Chaudhuri.

Audit Query: House Committee Orders Reconciliatory Meeting Between NPA, Debtors NDDC ProjectsSays Diri

Olusegun Samuel in Yenagoa Bayelsa State Governor, Senator Douye Diri, has described the more than 1,700 abandoned projects of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) which litter different parts of the state as Someunacceptable.oftheabandoned projects include the Angalabiri-EbedebiriToru-Orua shore protection project captured in the commission’s 2020 budget, the Sabagreia-Polaku bridge as well as the Akenfa bridge among others.Diri, who spoke yesterday, when the NDDC Interim Administrator, Dr. Akwa Effiong, visited him in Government House, Yenagoa, noted that the non-collaboration of the commission with catchment states that would advise on priority projects has led to duplication and abandonment of projects. Diri also called on President Muhammadu Buhari to constitute without further dela,y a substan tive board for the commission in accordance with its enabling Act, saying its absence was hindering the commission’s operations. Diri, who stressed that the interim administrator’s arrange ment was alien to the Act and unacceptable to governors of the Niger Delta, noted that the commission had not been able to meet its mandate because of the absence of a substantive board. Describing the NDDC as an interventionist body created to fill the developmental gap in the Niger Delta, Diri said the governors have also been robbed of their advisory role, which would have enabled the board embark on people-oriented projects in the region. He expressed his adminis tration's preparedness to work with the commission to foster development in the state. "The NDDC has a lot of abandoned projects in Bayelsa State. From reports, we have over 1700 projects that are dotted all over Bayelsa State. I know that is not healthy. "I like to at this juncture, again, appeal to President Muhammadu Buhari to constitute a substantive board for the NDDC according to the Act setting it up. "The NDDC was conceived and established as an interventionist body to fill developmental gap. We cannot accept these policy summersaults that make our development to suffer. "The interim arrangement has become the norm rather than the exception. That is totally unacceptable to us as governors of the Niger Delta states. We have a very huge stake according to the Act establishing the NDDC and that role is not being played. With the interim administration, Deji Elumoye in Abuja Vice President Yemi Osinbajo yesterday posited that state governments and their agencies have a significant role to play in ensuring an enabling environment for busi nesses to thrive in the country. Osinbajo, according to a release issued by his media aide, Laolu Akande, spoke at a virtual meeting of the Presidential Enabling Busi ness Environment Council (PEBEC) where he stressed that for all who are charged with responsibilities at the State level, they have their work cut out for them. According to the Vice President: “If we are going to have the kind of business environment that our country deserves and that can make a difference for our economy, it is the hard work at the sub-national level that would really move the needle.”Headded that “the States’ process is a very important one and I hope that we will be able to spend individually, especially in the States, a fair amount of time trying to work out how this will work in actual practice in our variousOsinbajoStates.”then noted that at the Federal level, it has been a major challenge trying to coordinate agencies and parastatals. At the virtual meeting, a presentation of the State Action on Business Enabling Reforms (SABER) Programme coordinated by the secretariat and the World Bank was discussed. The SABER Program is a three-year (Jan 2023 – Dec 2025) performance-based intervention jointly designed by the World Bank and the PEBEC Secretariat with support from the Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning and the Nigeria Gover nors’ Forum (NGF) Secretariat. The purpose is to incentivize and strengthen the implementation of business enabling reforms in Nigeria specifically across the participating States of the Federa tion and the FCT. Earlier in her remarks, the Special Adviser on Ease of Doing Business and Secretary of PEBEC, Dr Jumoke Oduwole, stated that there has been collaboration for over two years in conceptualizing the SABER Program, adding that “it is the first programme of this size that the World Bank is embarking on at this scale globally.” She explained that the program is a $750million operation compris ing two main areas - $730million Program-for-Results Financing

PHOTO: SUNDAY ADIGUN

L-R: Communications and Sustainability Manager, Unilever, Nigeria, Godfrey Adejumo; Director, Corporate Affairs and Sustainable Business, Unilever, West Africa, Soromidayo George; Category Manager, Homecare, Oladapo Oshuntoye and Brand Manager, Sunlight, Kolade Oluwapelumi, during the Sunlight Purpose media workshop held in Lagos… yesterday

Critical for Business Reforms to Thrive

1,700 Abandoned

Presidential council proposes disbursement of $750m to states from January, 2023 Urges President Buhari to constitute substantive board (PforR) component and $20million technical assistance for investment project financing. The Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs (Dr.) Zainab Shamsuna Ahmed had before now made a formal request to the World Bank for the preparation of the State Action on Business Enabling Reforms (SABER) Program with Government Partners. This was after a request came from PEBEC, through its Vice Chairman, the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Otunba Niyi Adebayo, asking for the World Bank’s support for deepening ease of doing business reforms at the sub-national level. The four main objectives of PEBEC–NEC Ease of Doing Business intervention are: "Deepen subnational businessenabling reforms through SABER program incentives, using resultbased financing targeted at improv ing the business environment.

Osinbajo to State Govts: Your Hardwork

there is no board for us to advise. "There must exist a synergy that will profile these projects before they are conceived. NDDC was not to go into every nook and cranny of states in the region. It should be looking at very large projects, sometimes inter-state projects with mutual agreement and cooperation of the state governments,” she added. Earlier, Dr. Akwa Effiong ap preciated the governor for his developmental strides, saying he had done well within the short period in office.

in Bayelsa Unacceptable,

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VictorBuhari

Kaita is considered by political scientists as a best performing senator in the state because his humanitar ian projects cut across the 12 local government areas that made up the senatorial zone. His movement to the PDP may not be unconnected with his determined desire and opportunity to provide succour and much-needed dividends of democracy to his people. He has since been given an automatic ticket in his new party. In a press statement, the senator said: “I am not a bandwagon politician. My exemplary and robust representation in the Nigerian Senate is to the admiration of all, and with significant, visible impacts in the areas of infrastructural and human capital development across the three Senatorial zones of the state. There is room to do more. “The fresh page from the decision to join the Peoples Democratic Party represents the ideals of representativeness in the mandate, goodwill and an even more determined desire and opportunity to provide succour, comfort and the much-needed dividends of democracy to the people”. The former House of Representatives member was elected to the 8th Senate in 2018 to fill the vacuum in the senatorial zone following the death of Senator Mustapha Bukar. In 2019, he was re-elected to the 9th Senate after defeating his then opponent, Hon. Usman Mani Nasarawa. However, Kaita will be slugging it out with the APC candidate, Hon. Nasiru Sani Zango in the forthcoming polls. Kaita’s supporters and pundits in the political landscape argued that the senator is loaded with vast political experience, qualifications and well-articulated structures in all the political wards of the senatorial zone judging from the unprecedented number of people he received during his recent visit to Zango, the hometown of his However,opponent.the recent resignation of APC membership by President Buhari’s nephew and member representing Daura/Sandamu/ Mai’Adua federal constituency at the lower chamber, Hon. Fatuhu Mohammed, did not only come to members of the party as a shock, but a new political tsunami that may drag the seemingly untired broom and its supporters to an early grave in the hometown of Buhari. In a resignation letter addressed to the APC chairman of Sarkin Yara A Ward and copied to the Daura local government chairman and state chairman of the party, Mohammed said: “This is to notify you that I have resigned my membership from the All Progressives Congress (APC) with immediate effect commencing from Wednesday the 15 day of July, 2022. Attached herewith is my Party Membership Registration slip with slip No. KT/DRA/10/00002.

The aftermath of party primaries conducted recently in Katsina State have left many politicians, especially, those in elective positions and their sup porters, aggrieved over allegations of being shortchanged and the feeling that some people considered as political greenhorns were unduly favoured in the process of nomination of party candidates. The deluge of protests cum migration from one party to another cut across the major political parties, particularly, the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) and other opposition parties in the state. Accordingly, political officeholders and gladi ators of these political parties had migrated from one party to another in protest against what they referred to as use of ‘fake’ or ‘doctored’ delegates list for the conduct of governorship, senate, House of Representatives and state House of Assembly primary elections in the state. Worst hit by the cross-carpet is the Daura senatorial district, the constituency of President Muhammadu Buhari where a serving senator representing the zone, Ahmed Babba Kaita and member representing Daura/Sandamu/ Mai’Adua federal constituency at the House of Representatives, Hon. Fatuhu Mohammed, dumped the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC). Kaita, who dumped the ruling party for the Peoples Democratic Party in April this year, due to what he described as marginalisation of critical stakeholders by the state government and the leadership of the party at the state level as well as the alleged failure of the government to execute meaningful projects that will alleviate the plight of the masses in the state. He also cited serial denial of the people’s mandate at the recent state APC congresses among other related developments as reasons that informed his decision to leave the ruling party alongside thousands of his supporters to the PDP after wide consultations with his people.

Biodun Oyebanji ascending the governorship seat in Ekiti State by October, 2022, will break the long-standing shackles of recycled leadership and offer a platform for local politician and “homeboy” to rule Ekiti for the first time. His victory will also usher in a back- to - back winning streak leadership by one party that had never recurred in Ekiti’s history. The foregoing scenarios had made the expectations very high from all the strata of the state : both formal and informal sectors. Little wonder, highwired scrambling had begun to set agenda that would uplift their living standards and bring a paradigm shift to how Ekiti is governed for the governor-elect. To lubricate all rough edges for smooth take off for Oyebanji, Governor Kayode Fayemi, had recently inaugurated a 20-member Transition Committee and a 4-member Advisory Council in preparation for the seamless transition of power to the Governor-elect. The Transition committee is headed by the Secretary to the State Government, Mr Foluso Daramola, while the incumbent Deputy Governor, Otunba Bisi Egbeyemi, heads the advisory Committee, that has political bigwigs like former Deputy Governor, Abiodun Aluko, Senator Olubunmi Adetumbi and former All Progressives Congress State Chairman, Jide Awe, as members. As encapsulated in the terms of reference, the committee is saddled with the responsibility of assessing the state’s assets and liabilities to give a well illuminating insight about the peak the governance has reached. Members are to also interact with all the groups and collate their charter of demands for broad-based knowledge about the people and government.However,while inaugurating the committee, Fayemi was hopeful that members has an arduous task ahead of them and was optimistic that they will work assiduously to articulate programme of actions that would buffer whatever lapses that could affect smooth take off of the next government. Fayemi, in his elucidative view, said the Transition Committee headed by the Secretary to the State Government will interact with the outgoing government to ensure a seamless transition and effective receipt of detailed handover notes. The committee, according to him, will as well study the state of affairs of the present administration, review the programmes and projects of MDAs and non -formal sector and map out strategies for a smooth transition from the incumbent to the incoming government. “I will therefore not want the import of this event to be lost on us, as it is a very crucial step in the consolidation of our democracy, especially for us in Ekiti State. Today, Ekiti state is leading the way again as a model subnational government with the implementation of a carefully crafted law with robust provisions to ensure smooth transition of power from successive administrations of the governments of Ekiti state. “We are pleased that our efforts would ensure that, regardless of electoral outcome, Ekiti will always win. This is also why one of the enduring legacies to be handed over to the incoming administration is the recently crafted 30 years State Development Plan, 2021-2050 which should serve as a critical roadmap to the new administration and even successive ones”, he said. As sweet as the last victory was, Fayemi dropped a hint that the coming government would face a lot of challenges that will be oc casioned by dwindling revenues and avalanche of demands from the populace. The governor was however upbeat that Oyebanji’s dexterity in administration and sterling qualities would surely help him in piloting the affairs of the state. He said the governor-elect had held series of pivotal posi tions in the past where he proved his mettle, saying this will help him survive the hardship being experienced in governance. “Oyebanji has been a central figure in my own administration from 2010-2014 and 2018-2022 and before then, he has been a central figure between 1999-2003 and deservedly shared in the credit for all we have been able to do for the good people of Ekiti state. “As former Secretary to the State Govern ment, he shared in our records of achievements in good governance and also in the challenges that we have experienced over the years in the course of this administration. “He was there during my first term at the centre of our pioneering efforts to re-engineer regional integration in Western Nigeria with the establishment of the Developmental Agenda for Western Nigeria Commission when he served as Commissioner for Integration and Inter-Governmental Affairs which was to later berth Amotekun.

MIDWEEKPOLITICS Acting Group Politics Editor DEJI ELUMOYE Email: deji.elumoye@thisdaylive.com08033025611 SMS ONLY 20 THISDAY WEDNESDAY AUGUST 17, 2022 NOTE: Interested readers should continue in the online edition on www.thisdaylive.com

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

Francis Sardauna writes that the political atmosphere in Daura senatorial zone of Katsina state has become unpredictable in the last seven months with the unfolding gale of defections in the political landscape.

Gale of Defections in Buhari’s Senatorial Zone

Ogunje writes that the scheduled take over of the reign of power in Ekiti state on October 16, 2022 by the governor- elect, Biodun Oyebanji, is expected to bring fresh air into governance in the state.

Daunting Tasks Awaiting Oyebanji in Ekiti

Oyebanji Keita Mohammed

WEDNESDAY AUGUST 17, 2022 • THISDAY 21

So while the rest of the world was trying to stay alive, two young creatives decided to make the best of a situation that looked gloomy and herculean. The aim for them was just simple. Yes, simple but crystal, engaging and thought-provoking. It was to help rescript the tech approach of the nation while imprinting their names in the heart of innovation

Bridging the Gap with Astra Metaverse Innovation is arguably significant to the advancement of society. It is said to solve social problems and enhance society's capacity to act. "The e-commerce experience hasn’t changedmuch since Amazon came online in 1992 (pretty much since the year I was born)," Erinle chipped in. Hence, Astra has come in to innovate and create a new way to shop and make new friends almost as though you’re playing a game. Adding to it that "This non-skeuomorphic gamification is what we’re aiming to bridgewith Astra Consequently,metaverse."justlike the last dot.com boom,there were a lot of bets on the future of the internet that wasn’t realised until the decade after. "For us, the sort of tech that will make the metaverse globally relevant such as high internet speeds (5G/6G) and stable electricity in Africa will not be globally available untilthe next decade." While the team of six believe that the industry is still very early and that if they can stay alive and continue to build toward product-market fit, they are optimistic that there is room for a lot of exponential growth.

Team Work Just like an idea is the beginning of all dreams, the team of two spread its tentacles and became six major players. They include Luke Jeffers; Kunbi Ajai; Charles Egbejule; Femi Falade; Aniekan Etuk - Conceptualisation Lead; Priscilla Alao - People & Partnerships Lead; Barima Effa - Rust Developer; Obinna Oti - 3D Product Designer; Hirwa Honore - 3D Animator; and Max Unreal Engine Dev Tim, Unreal Engine Dev. Using Social Media for Social Corporate Responsibilities To continue to dispense excellence, AstraTeam beckoned the world to follow them on Twitter and Instagram @welcometoastra to stay in touch for demo launches, giveaways and opportunities for other young budding technopreneurs.Indeed,Astra Metaverse boasts the rightminds and the most efficient hands to continue to shape IT adventure globally, thereby making the nation and the continent proud. And as they rolled up their sleeves to break records and etch their names in the tech space while acknowledging that inspiration is the elixir of life, the Astra team wants to inspire other young Blacks to be goal-setters and go-getters in the tech space.

Setting the pace around innovation, ingenuity and teamwork in the tech scenery is Astra's mantra. And In this interactive session with Rebecca Ejifoma and Maduabuchi Ubani, the two founders of the Nigerian-led Metaverse Startup among other things share their journey, track record, ecosystems and activities resulting in their emergence as Winner of the Public Vote at the Global Metaverse Summit in Paris, France recently

Journey of Astra Metaverse Taking a stroll down memory lane, Erinle,the Economist, reminisced about how Astra took off the ground as Thrill Digital. He cofounded it with Okeowo during the heat of the lockdown. The platform was designed as a Digital Fashion Experience Studio workingon virtual fashion shows. "I had the idea of being able to go shop ping. And then I pulled the rest of the team of about seven people to work towards building a metaverse experience where you can play games, and shop products that people could use in real life," he expressed, chipping in that "And two years later, we have made a lot of progress towards building Astra." And just two years into affording the globe the virtual world experience, Astra clinched thePublic Vote at the Global Metaverse Summit in Paris, France. Echoing the minds of the other team members, Erinle, a protocol designer, dispensed positive emotions. "We are very happy to have won the public vote. We want to thank our friends, family and community for their support."As African founders," he chuckled with a sense of pride, "knowing that we have the backing of our community means we know that there are people out there that are rooting for us and want to see us succeed in an industry that hasn’t seen many black founders thrive. We hope to be shining examples to other black and African founders that they can thrive in any space they desire to." While the firm was yet to find its bearing, it took off the ground as Thrill Digital founded solely by Okeowo andErinle. This was thanks to the lockdown. "It started as a digital fashion experience studio working on things like virtualfashion shows. "I then had the idea of being able to go shopping and then brought on the rest of the team to work towards building a metaverse experience where you can play games and shop for products that people could use in real life. Two years later and we’ve made a lot of progress towards building Astra," says Erinle.For the team that has transitioned into a team of seven, Astra metaverse is quite possibly the future of the internet. This is a fact the world has long perceived, hence, currently exploring. These Nigerians aren't letting the opportunity drift away.

Charles Egbejule Aniekan Etuk

Hope for the Astra Metaverse With a glimmer of hope, Erinle and his team yearn for Astra to continue to be an experience that doesn’t take people away from earth or the touch of reality. Rather, he hinted, "It should gamify everyday activities, making it fun to play, shop, learn and make new friends via personalised avatars."

Founder of Astra Metaverse, Delz Erinle Co-founder of Astra Metaverse, Niyi Okeowo Deinma Oremodu Femi Falade

What Astra Metaverse is Building Today, Astra Metaverse is building a virtual shopping and gaming experience, enabling people to visit virtual stores and play games with friends using avatars which are digital representations of people. To make this a first-of-its-kind experience, Astra has braced up to help people to become able to shop for clothes fromsustainable brands with virtual tokens (Astras) and receive them at home in their right size. Globally, Astra is one of the first startups to be building in this space. "We got backed by Epic Games, the creators of Fortnite.With this, we have raised over a million dollars so far and recently received a grant from Meta to build pop VR experiences for malls," Erinle enthused, as he gushes about their gains. On what is revolutionary about meta verse and Astra as a platform, the Covenant University alumnus highlighted theirthesis. "Our thesis is that the metaverse is a playground for an NFT first supply chain that gives products value in 3D before they are physically manufactured, sometimes not even needing to be physi callyWmanufactured.eseethemetaverse as a tool for global sustainability," as he illustrated "Imagine if every outfit in real life was only manufactured when they have been bought in 3D? This means that there will be a lot less waste, as only what has been bought and maybe some physical samples will exist."

Dreams do come true. And nothing can stop an idea when its time has come; not even the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown that practically brought the global economies to their knees. So while the rest of the world was trying to stay alive, two young creatives decided to make the best of a situation that looked gloomy and herculean. The aim for them was just simple. Yes, simple but crystal, engaging and thought-provoking. It was to help rescript the tech approach of the nation while imprintingtheir names in the heart of innovation. To do this, two go-getters with the right thoughts resolved to take the path where few Nigerians have dared to go. These duo seized the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown in 2020 to create an imaginary world of positivity, fun andfulfillment from the comfort of one's home – all powered by innovation. Delz Erinle and NiyiOkeowo would move to birth Astra, and thus opened the floodgates of opportunities and exponential impact alongside triumph.While Erinle is a Web 3 Venture and Protocol designer, Okeowo is a renowned multidisci plinary creative, brand specialist and art director. These two futurists didn't just come up with an idea that can change the trajectory of the world, they breathed life into it Erinle Erinle is a Web 3 Venture & Protocol designer, with a background in UX design, Economicsand Product innovation. He is an alumnus of Covenant University where he bagged a BSc in Economics. He went on to the University of Birmingham where he studied Marketing Management (MSc) and proceeded to the University of Warwick for an MSc in Innovation andHeEntrepreneurship.alsohas10years of experience as a product designer and entrepreneur working with companies like BT and Conde Nast, as well as building his startups. He has an active presence on social media including Twitter,Facebook and LinkedIn to interact with the world 806a1288/,https://www.linkedin.com/in/niyi-okeowo-mediaofPaystackdecade20,000Okeowoasthatco-founderWhilehttps://www.linkedin.com/in/alexerinle/.admittingthesignificantroleoftheandArtDirectionLead,Okeowo,changedhisstory,Erinledescribedhimasourceofinspirationtomanydesigners.isarenownedArtDirectorwithoverfollowersacrosssocialmedia.HehasaofexperienceandclientslikeUber&andisresponsiblefortheartdirectionAstra.JustlikeErinle,heleveragessociallikeFacebook,InstagramandLinkedIn,toreachalargeraudience.

Astra Metaverse: From Lockdown to Global Recognition

FEATURES 22 Group Features Editor: Chiemelie Ezeobi Email chiemelie.ezeobi@thisdaylive.com, 07010510430 THISDAY 2022

Acknowledging threats to technology While conceding that with any new technology, there is a need to avoid any thicket of scrutiny, Erinle and his team believe a way to nip any cyber issue in the bud will be to enlightenusers. "Users need to know that because it is a virtual experience does not mean there won't be real-life consequences for a misdemeanour."We will also listen to feedback from our users or residents in Astra, called Astranauts to continue to make sure we are serving them in the best way possible," says the co-founder.

WEDNESDAY AUGUST 17, 2022 • THISDAY 23

life. They are succeeding in all areas. It was the gender-biased triumphs that got us talking in Nigeria, but a closer look at the medals tables of Oregon, Birmingham or every other global sporting submit before, it has always been a case of the nations that invested the most in education topping the tables. You cannot separate education and sports. Sports is a part of education. A lot of our athletes, Amusan inclusive, are enjoying sporting scholarships abroad giving them the opportunity to kill two birds with a stone. Nigeria will not excel in sports beyond what it is doing now if UNICEF continues to report the world are in Nigeria. Sporting success will continue to be celebrated like moon landing if university students are idling at home with no hope of resumption in sight. Beyond ensuring that every Nigerian receives universal and practical education, there needs to be a review of our school infrastructure whereby minimum thresholds for registration should be legislated. In addition to well-equipped libraries and laboratories, schools should have sporting facilities where pupils can physically exercise themselves. What we have today are schools mushrooming in every urban hectare available lacking adequate space and ventilation that dehydrates and exhausts both poorly paid teachers and restless students Unfortunately, the solution is not in elitist private education whose only marketing tools are ex-students’ excellent scores in external examinations, morals and uninterrupted academic sessions. To achieve more than a dozen gold medals in global competitions, our schools should be such that sporting aptitude be considered for admission. We ought to have schools that attract prospecting students because of the sporting infrastructure they possess and the students they produce that have gone to do professional sporting exploits. Besides, education is incomplete without physical education. The solution to having more buga dancers on the international sporting stage is not also in arranging quasi-school sports competitions that only serves to showcase the sponsors and organisers. Rather, it will require investing in to train the students. This infrastructure and pedagogy is very important because Nigeria typically sends representatives only in sports that are both capital and technically less intensive. What we do now is just rely on our uncontrolled population at home and abroad to pick athletes. Why haven’t we gotten athletes that or extending our strengths into the middleand long-distance races? Why do our paramedals come only from powerlifting? The countries that top the medal tables do so by sending athletes across the sporting spectrum and disciplines and this doesn’t happen by chance. It requires deliberate investment. We the Niger-Delta creeks or Lagos motor park without training and expect swimming or boxingProducingmedals.many more Ese Brumes is not a big deal. It is as simple as setting up runways that lead to the sanded long-jump pit that the federation. But alas, we have converted neighbourhood spaces and playgrounds into shopping centres and more accommodations for the rich. The insecurity ravaging the nation is just the youths getting back at a nostril to express themselves positively. A visit to those countries that continue to do well in sports is the way they built their cities to ensure recreational facilities are available in every neighbourhood. Nigeria did better in sports when every estate had playgrounds. Finally, the divide Nigeria’s recent sporting outings exposes again is the section of the country that keep representing us. Our sporting contingents across all sports shows that only people from one half of the country continue to adorn Nigeria’s colours. It is the same gender argument that a bird cannot have reasoned that people that can’t compete intellectually would make up for it physically but the medal tables even from the National Sports Festivals don’t support that. It is the same states that score highest in Common Entrance examinations that still top the medalsLeaderstable.of educationally less developed states should know that dwelling in that description is nothing to be proud of. They are doing themselves more harm than good. Keeping their girls uneducated and setting up their blue-blooded males for political positions and upper civil service jobs will only bring forward the Armageddon that such underdevelopment entails. Okunfolami writes Festac, Lagos SANWO-OLU: THREE YEARS ON NIRAN AJAYI writes that the Lagos State governor is clear where he is going FOR GOD, COUNTRY AND THE MARABOU With Nigeria’s presidential election due in February 2023, it is almost boom time for political witchdoctors, writes CHIDI ANSELM ODINKALU EDITORIAL FROM COMMONWEALTHTHEGAMES

Except for record-breaking Tobi Amusan and other women that wore Nigeria’s colours at the just concluded World Athletics Championships and Commonwealth Games that followed days after, it would have just been another uncelebrated outing of Nigeria’s sportsmen and women. Not that the contingents would have returned emptyhanded, but recent history has given Nigerians at home more things to worry about than waiting endlessly for lower-tier medals that seldom come in trinkles. The World Athletics Championships that took place in Oregon, USA, is the World Cup of athletics. Therefore, anybody that podiumed the highest here, not only gets his or her nation’s anthem sung but would be recognised as the world champion. That is vigil to not only witness Amusan breaking the African and world records but more impressively winning gold in the women’s 100 metre hurdles for two consecutive nights. record holder and world champion. My mind went back to another woman, Chioma gold medallist. The women storyline became more pronounced when Ese Brume won the women’s silver medal in long jump and the but not without setting a new African record. The string of female successes over the men was furthered at the multi-sports Commonwealth Games. Amusan, Brume, and that women 4x100m relay quartet all broke new games and continental records. These Commonwealth games, which was the 22nd edition, were Nigeria’s best in history with 35 medals won, 12 of which were gold disciplines. No better time to be a Nigerian woman! In fact, since 2007, it has been tales of the nation waiting for Blessing Okagbare and other women to save us our blushes of for the Women World Cup while the Super Eagles failed to do so. The success of our women again destroys the myth of women in sports losing their femininity. Ask Mary Onyeali or Serena Williams. Women in sports can still be beautiful and can raise a family. Amusan’s Oregon’s win in particular, drew attention to what a nation can achieve by investing in the girl-child. No society can achieve its optimal potential if only half its population are empowered. That’s like disadvantaging yourself by going into a game with half your squad and history has also shown us that investment in the girlchild is the cheapest form of investment. For one, an educated woman easily teaches her children at no cost. This is even obvious that the leading nations in the world have greatly empowered their women that it is no more news to see women in the highest spheres of

It was the gender-biased triumphs that got us talking in Nigeria, but a closer look at the medals tables of Oregon, Birmingham or every other global sporting submit before, it has always been a case of the nations that invested the most in education topping the tables. You cannot separate education and sports. Sports is a part of education

1THISDAY WEDNESDAY AUGUST 17, 202224 Tuesday August 16, 2022 Vol 27. No 9988 www.thisdaylive.com opinion@thisdaylive.com

BETWEEN OREGON AND BIRMINGHAM

LAURELS

There is no better time to be a Nigerian woman, writes AYODELE OKUNFOLAMI

T U S N See page 26

See page 25 See page 25

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SANWO-OLU: THREE YEARS ON NIRAN AJAYI writes that the Lagos State governor is clear where he is going

enemies had planted dark forces inside political leaders have sought to harness 70 in 1984 as one of Senegal’s richest and A lawyer and a teacher, Odinkalu can be reached at chidi.odinkalu@tufts.edu

The record of some of their more famous and miraculous from shamans of diverse rats and rodents had forced the president From the regeneration of the foremost pillars of the state’s strategic development evident that the governor has delivered the governor provided safer and modern among the people in the coastal areas after prominent Lagosians including our this medium to once again assure our councils and nine local council development also launched to provide a decent and Lagos are not left out in the development agencies and projects that are gulping the are sustaining governance in the nation’s Ajayi writes from Lagos FOR GOD, COUNTRY AND THE MARABOU With Nigeria’s presidential election due in February 2023, it is almost boom time for political witchdoctors, writes CHIDI ANSELM ODINKALU

4 THISDAY WEDNESDAY AUGUST 17, 2022

While we salute all the brilliant athletes who made Nigeria proud in Birmingham, we must continue to nurture the abundance of talents that we have in our country

Letters to the Editor LETTERS

T H I

The furore and animosity being generated by APC muslim-muslim ticket has lingered for unreasonable length of time. This piece is to implore the major stakeholders that it’s an auspicious time to put a break on this distraction and face the real battle which is the forthcoming general elections otherwise, we’ll all be the losers. For the avoidance of doubt, the opponents of the is always ‘winner takes all’. However, in their moment of anger, they must be circumspect, absolute sense of maturity. They must resist all the entreaties from political foes and opponents from being deployed as in struments of destruction to the wonderful and imperial political structure they’ve collaborated to build. lim faithful when the government eventually comes into being ministration, this would never happen. Asiwaju Tinubu we all know has never been an apostle of rary political leader should be. He’s never given to unnecessary religious, ideological, gender or demographic sentiments. That’s the major reason why Tinubu’s political empire has re mained hybrid of Christians and Muslims who have blossomed Kemi Nelson, Prof Yemi Osinbajo, Akin Ambode, Olorunnimbe Mamora, Femi Pedro, George Akume, Adams Oshiomole, Chris

tions, particularly the presidency will be a titanic battle as PDP, the main opposition party is also strategizing to win. fact, the chairman majorly determines the swings of pendulum of major decisions, as he’s in control of the party apparatus. party could be ceded to a Christian. APC as a party would lose forced to have a rethink, as the party would be giving them sense a Christian, youthful, dynamic, out-going and result-oriented could be considered from the same North Central Geo-political zone to replace the incumbent chairman. Meanwhile, Senator Adamu could be accommodated as the new Board of Trustees (BOT) Chairman. At least, the party has never got one before. atively done well, although it could be better. The suggestion for change of leadership is therefore not out of competence or lack of capacity, but simply for political exigencies. Kola Amzat (FCA, FCIB), Lagos based Financial Consultant ASSUAGING APC CHRISTIAN FAITHFUL 26

This piece is therefore to re-assure the Christian faithful across deed, what should preoccupy the APC stakeholders now is how to do everything humanly possible at ensuring the balancing and strengthening of that ticket to guaranteeing victory at polls. Happily, this process has started with the appointment of the Governor of Plateau State as Director General of Tinubu Cam accordingly taken charge of his role and responsibility. at the very top echelon of the party could also be considered. retain the seat of presidency come 2023. The forthcoming elec

ADAMU:

The success at the Birmingham Games is a wake-up call for more investment in sports S D AY EDITOR SHAKA MOMODU DEPUTY EDITORS WALE OLALEYE, OBINNA CHIMA MANAGING DIRECTOR ENIOLA BELLO DEPUTY MANAGING DIRECTOR ISRAEL IWEGBU CHAIRMAN EDITORIAL BOARD OLUSEGUN ADENIYI EDITOR NATION’S CAPITAL IYOBOSA UWUGIAREN MANAGING EDITOR BOLAJI ADEBIYI THE OMBUDSMAN KAYODE KOMOLAFE

EDITORIAL

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. Email peter.ishaka@thisdaylive.com

T H I S D AY N E W S PA P E R S L I M I T E D EDITOR-IN-CHIEF/CHAIRMAN NDUKA OBAIGBENA GROUP EXECUTIVE DIRECTORS ENIOLA BELLO, KAYODE KOMOLAFE, ISRAEL IWEGBU, IJEOMA NWOGWUGWU, EMMANUEL EFENI DIVISIONAL DIRECTORS SHAKA MOMODU, PETER IWEGBU, ANTHONY OGEDENGBE DEPUTY DIVISIONAL DIRECTOR OJOGUN VICTOR DANBOYI SNR. ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR ERIC OJEH ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR PATRICK EIMIUHI CONTROLLERS ABIMBOLA TAIWO, UCHENNA DIBIAGWU, NDUKA MOSERI DIRECTOR, PRINTING PRODUCTION CHUKS ONWUDINJO TO SEND EMAIL: first name.surname@thisdaylive.com

LAURELS FROM THE COMMONWEALTH GAMES

The recent 22nd Commonwealth Games ended in Birmingham, United Kingdom, with fanfare after top level competitions involving 6, 500 athletes and 280 medal events. For Team Nigeria, it was our country’s best ever outing since we started participating in what was formerly called the British Empire Games in Auckland, New Zealand in 1950 when Joshua Majekodunmi won the overall seventh position and as Africa’s top performer. With just 93 athletes (41 men and 52 women) competing in seven sports, namely, athletics, boxing, judo, para powerlifting, table tennis, weightlifting and wrestling, Team Nigeria surpassed her previous best outing which was at the 1994 edition in Canada with 11 gold, 13 silver and 13 bronze medals. At Birmingham, Nigeria’s 100m hurdles world record holder, Oluwatobiloba Amusan won the most medals (two gold in 100m Women’s Hurdle and 4x100m Relay). Other gold medalists include (4x100m Relay); Miesinnei Mercy Genesis (50 kg), Blessing Oborududu (57 kg) and Odunayo Adekuoroye (57kg) all in women’s Freestyle wrestling. Adijat Adenike also harvested gold medals in Women’s weightlifting. Folashade Oluwafemiayo (women’s heavyweight put), Chioma Onyekwere and Goodness Nwachukwu jump) complete the list of the women that won gold medals for the country. We must commend the Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Sunday Dare for the feat. Apparently having learnt lessons from Team Nigeria’s performance at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, the 2020 Paralympic Games and the World Athletics U20 Championships in advantage for the athletes. By deciding that only the sports where we have athletes competing among the top focusing on them, it was easy for our country to make appreciable showing in Birmingham. Motivating these athletes was also a major factor. State governments, corporate bodies and well-spirited, wealthy Nigerians were encouraged to provide funds to help athletes with training, travels, payment of coaches, insurance, etc. Some other forms of assistance were also facilitated by the minister in areas of health insurance, admissions and scholarships. We hope all these will continue.However, one noticeable feature of Team Nigeria’s outing in Birmingham was that all the 12 gold medals were won by our female that our male athletes have taken to playing second the exit of the generation of the Ezinwa brothers (Davidson and Osmond), Olapade Adeniken, Francis Obikwelu, Deji Aliu, Sunday Bada and a few others, feet in global competitions. We hope the emergence of Udodi Onwuzurike, Favour Ashe, Alaba Akintola and Raymond Ekewvo who won a bronze medal in the men’s 4 x100 relay, will ginger a rebirth. The same applies to the other sports federations like boxing, weightlifting, table tennis and other combat sports where Nigeria used to be a major force in the a bronze in men’s 67kg of the weightlifting event in Birmingham, it was far from what it used to be for also sad that the few boxers we took to the Games failed to earn any medal. This must be a wake-up call for those managing the men’s sports. As we therefore salute all the brilliant athletes who made Nigeria proud in Birmingham, we must continue to nurture the abundance of talents that we have in our country.

Editor, Editorial Page PETER ISHAKA

Kayode Tokede On the back of rising inflation rate and shortage of foreign exchange (FX) in Nigeria, Dangote Cement Plc, MTN Nigeria Plc and 12 other companies incurred a whopping sum of N2.25 trillion as operational costs in half year (H1) ended June 30, 2022, representing an increase of 27.3 per cent from N1.77 trillion reported in half year of 2021. Inflation rate in Nigeria hit 18.6 per cent as at H1 2022 from 15.6 per cent the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) reported in January.

The Bureau on Monday reported further hike in inflation rate to 19.64 per cent, highest in over 17-year. Also, the Naira at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) official rate depreciated to N414.72 against the Dollar as of June 30, 2022 from N413.17 against the dollar reported January 4, 2022.Latest results released by companies listed on the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) reveal that rising cost of goods and services is eating into profit at levels not seen since 2017. A cursory review of some of the H1 2022 results published by some of Nigeria’s largest companies reveals higher input and operational cost on a year-on-year basis. Despite hike in cost of sales and operating expenses (OPEX), most of these companies recorded contraction performance across construction, manufacturing, petroleum marketing and Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FCMGs).Thesecompanies spent heavily on power, and raw materials in H1 2022 as cost of energy surged significantly across most countries in the world. Notably, cost of diesel sold as high as N850 per litre in some areas of the country, while some firms had to cut down on working hours in order to manage costs. For instance, Dangote Cement reported N169.4 billion OPEX in H1 2022, representing an increase of 43 per cent from N118.28 billion in H1 2021, while its Cost of sales hits N322.46 billion in H1 2022 from N276.12 billion reported in H1 2021. Dangote Cement in H1 2022 reported N129.96 billion on fuel & power consumed as against N98.98billion in H1 2021, while cost of material consumed rose by The increase in OPEX and cost of sales impacted on the cement manufacturing company’s profit before tax that dropped by 5.8 per cent to N264.89 billion in H1 2022 from N281.25 billion in H1 2021. The Chief Executive Officer, Dangote Cement, Michel Puchercos, in a statement said, “Despite the elevated inflation due to a very volatile global environment, the first half of 2022 has been Puchercospositive.explained further that significant increase in energy and Automotive Gas Oil (AGO) costs are impacting negatively on production and supply of cement products.

MTN Nigeria, one of Nigeria’s largest and most profitable listed company, saw its cost of sales up by 22.9 per cent to N162.78 billion in H1 2022 from N132.5 billion in H1 2021, while OPEX increase from N241.55 billion in the H1 2021 compared to N277.99 billion reported in H1 2022. According to MTN Nigeria, “OPEX increased by 15.1per cent due to the effects of Naira depreciation and higher dollar Consumer Price Index (CPI) on lease rental costs, the acceleration in our site rollout and rising energy

Ebere Nwoji Pensioners under the Defined Pension Benefit scheme have condemned what they called woeful disparity in payment of their monthly pension benefits allegedly instituted by the Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate (PTAD). The pensioners said the present payment scale used by PTAD for their monthly benefits falls far below what was contained in the table of consequential adjustment in pensions arising from the implementation of the National minimum wage. The pensioners said the correct table was drawn by Wages and Salaries Commission and was attached to a previous circular dated April 28,2021, sent to their pensioners’ group by the Commission on approval of parity in pension benefit payment which they have been yearning for. A group of pensioners under the Defined Pension Benefit Scheme, the Association of Retired Federal Senior Public Officers of Nigeria (ARFESPON) who made the complaint in a memo they sent to the Chairman National Salaries, Income and Wages Commission, Mr Ekpo Nta, alleged that contrary to the approval on their new benefit scale stipulated by the salary and wages commission, which has addressed the problem of disparity, PTAD came up with a table of its own bearing the same title as that of the wages commission but with a most confusing content. ARFESPON in the memo signed by its National President James Obong Bassey and General Secretary Olusoji Sobo stated, “When your circular SWC/S/04/.542/11/298 dated April 28,2021was received by us, we were very delighted and thanked God that the long struggle by our association to achieve parity in the payment of pension to retired officers in the Defined Benefit Scheme irrespective of the scale of salary on which they retired has finally been approved by the federal government. We were happy that our long yearning of almost 20 years on pension parity struggle for pensioners that retired on similar circumstances of length of pensionable service, salary grade level and step has been met. However,

BUSINESS WORLD Group Business Editor Eromosele Abiodun Email oriarehu.eromosele@thisdaylive.com08056356325 Dangote Cement, MTN, Others Incur N2.25trn Operational Costs amid Soaring Inflation, FX Shortage 27 Continued on page 28 Pensioners Bemoan Disparity in Pension Benefits, Accuses PTAD of Altering Payment Scale Continued on page 28 THISDAY WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 17, 2022 MARKET DATA AS AT TUESDAY, AUGUST 16, 2022 BILLS MATURITY countDis- Yield (%)Change Updated Time NTB Nov-2210- 3.903.94 0.00August 12, 2022 NTB 26-Jan23 9.8010.26 2.49August 12, 2022 NTB 9-Feb23 10.0010.52 0.00August 12, 2022 NTB 9-Mar23 10.0510.66 -0.01August 12, 2022 NTB 27-Apr23 4.905.08 0.00August 12, 2022 BONDS DESCRIPTIONPriceYield (%)Change Updated Time ^14.20 MAR-202414- 104.5510.98 -0.01 12,August2022 13.53 MAR-202523- 103.05 12.12 0.00 12,August2022 ^12.50 JAN-202622- 99.28 12.76 0.41 12,August2022 ^16.2884 MAR-202717- 112.10 12.72 -0.15 12,August2022 ^13.98 FEB-202823- 104.50 12.82 0.00 12,August2022 OTC FX FUTURES (MONTH)TENORCONTRACT Contract ($/₦)RateCurrent Updated Time 1 NGUS AUG 31 2022 433.54 August 12, 2022 2 NGUS SEP 28 2022 435.39 August 12, 2022 3 NGUS OCT 26 2022 437.24 August 12, 2022 4 NGUS NOV 30 2022 439.09 August 12, 2022 5 NGUS DEC 28 2022 440.94 August 12, 2022 MATURITYDiscountYieldCPSChange(%) Updated Time FDHP CP 17-MAR-23III 14.7716.18 -0.01August 12, 2022 VHPL CP 1-APR-23III 18.6421.14 -0.01August 12, 2022 our joy soon turned sour when we started receiving our new pensions in June 2021 and the amount being paid fell short of the amount indicated in your circular under reference.” Calling for the intervention of the federal government, the pensioners’ group stated: “It is important sir that the due and proper pension that you

RATES AS AT AUGUST 16,2022 MONEY MARKETREPOS & P INDEX S & P INDEXEXCHANGE RATE OPR 11.25% CALL 10.25% INDEX LEVEL 613.31% 1/4 TO DATE -0.85%N416.86/ 1 US DOLLAR* OVERNIGHT 11.50% 1-MONTH 9.56% 1-DAY 0.16% YEAR TO DATE 7.64%*AS AT LAST FRIDAY 3-MONTH 10.52% MONTH-TO-DATE 0.44%

He explained that the major drivers of inflation and cost in the economy include exchange rate depreciation, which has a significant impact on headline inflation, “especially the core sub index and liquidity challenges in the foreign exchange market impacting adversely on manufacturing output.” To tame the current inflationary pressure, he urged government to reform the foreign exchange market to stabilize the exchange rate and reduce volatility and address foreign exchange liquidity issues through appropriate policy measures.

BUSINESSWORLD INTERVIEW and your committee worked so hard to have his excellency President Mohammed Buhari approved for pensioners for which the pensioners are most grateful should be implemented as approved to settle the issue of parity in pension payment across the board. PTAD should please be called to order in order not to frustrate this compassionate move by all of you sir, “the association stated. When THISDAY contacted the President of Lagos State chapter of ARFESPON, Mr Femi Odewabi on the alleged distortions on the scale of payment of the pensioners benefits by PTAD, he said: ”Usually the salaries and wages commission arranges the salaries of every public staff that were in public service and it comes in circulars so when the money was about to be paid salaries and wages commission presented their table which was approved by the president now this table was eventually given to PTAD to implement we don’t know what went wrong “Somehow,somewhere.PTADmade another table. It is with that that they used to underpay and shortchanged our people. For instance, one of us retired as assistant director at grade level 15 and from all indications he should be transferred to a level 16 on the scale that wages and salary commission made but he was paid on level 13 on the Ptad scale so he was shortchanged. What led to this I don’t know. We were asking questions their oga in PTAD said those people that retired by June 2007 will enjoy the new scheme but those who retired before 2007 will be Odewabi,short-changed.”lamentedthat this has been a problem which members of the association and other pensioners under Define Benefit Scheme have been fighting against for a very long time. “Assuming my eyesight are good I

DANGOTE CEMENT, MTN, OTHERS INCUR N2.25TRN OPERATIONAL COSTS AMID SOARING INFLATION, FX SHORTAGE

Listed on the floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange in 1978, Vitafoam’s brands remain household name in Nigeria. The company’s Group Managing Director, Mr Taiwo Adeniyi speaks on its 60 years journey in Nigeria and its sustainable strategy to protect the future of its core business. Excerpts

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

Commenting, the CEO, Centre for Promotion of Private Enterprise (CPPE), Dr Muda Yusuf, said inflationary pressures remain a key concern in the Nigerian economy, both for businesses and the citizens. He highlighted that implications of high inflation rate include escalation of production and operating costs for businesses, leading to erosion of profit margins, drop in sales, decline in turnover and weak manufacturing capacity utilization, high food prices which impacts adversely on citizens welfare and aggravates poverty. He further stated that Weak purchasing power, which poses significant risk to business sustainability and price volatility, which undermines investors’ confidence are major implications of high inflation pressure.

On his part, analyst at PAC Holdings, Mr. Wole Adeyeye said that the operational cost of most companies increased significantly in H1 2022, driven mainly by higher inputAccordingcosts. to him: “The upsurge was witnessed in inputs sourced locally (especially raw materials & consumables, fuel and power consumed, distribution expenses, among others). In addition, most listed companies complained about the depreciation of Naira as it raised cost of imported raw materials during the period.”

How did Vitafoam Nigeria PLC begin?

Vitafoam Nigeria Plc, Nigeria’s leading manufacturer of flexible, reconstituted and rigid foam products with the largest foam manufacturing and distribution network in West Africa, was incorporated on 4th of August, 1962 and listed on the floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange in 1978, Vitafoam’s brands remain household name in the Country. The Company’s commitment to quality in its production process has earned it several quality awards including the Gold Certificate Award for most of its products. Vitafoam was the first Foam Manufacturing Company in Nigeria to subject its quality system to the Quality Management System championed by the Standards Organization of Nigeria (SON). The NIS ISO 9002 Certificate was obtained in 2001 and upgraded to NIS ISO 9001: 2008 in 2015. The certification body recertified the company and upgraded its certificate to ISO 9001:2015 in November, 2020.

28 WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 17, 2022 THISDAY

PENSIONERS BEMOAN DISPARITY IN PENSION BENEFITS, ACCUSES PTAD OF ALTERING PAYMENT SCALE costs. The escalation of diesel prices in Nigeria contributed to the 12.2per cent increase in direct network operating costs with a 0.3pp EBITDA margin impact.”Inthesame vein, Nigeria Breweries, the country’s largest brewer also recorded a significant spike in cost of sales and operating expenses during the year. As Cost of sales in the H1 2022 rose to N155.35 billion compared to N131.34 billion in H1 2021, OPEX rose by 44.8 per cent to N84.9 billion in H1 2022 from N58.6 billion in H1 2021. In addition, Nestle Nigeria reported N34.02 billion OPEX in H1 2022, representing an increase of 13 per cent from N30.1 billion in H1 2021, while Cost of sales rose significantly by 35 per cent to N142.25 billion in H1 2022 from N105.01 billion in H1 2021. According to analysts at the Economist Intelligence, prices of global commodities, including energy, are rising rapidly and fuelling runaway inflation and instability in much of Africa including its most populous nation,TheyNigeria.addedthat the cost of living crisis is being exacerbated by the Russia-Ukraine conflict which have resulted in sanctions, airspace bans and security aggravating pandemic-related supply-chain difficulties. Besides inflationary pressure, the marginal increase in Naira against Dollar exchange rate in the official market also resulted in the hike in general prices of goods and services in the first three months under review.

What is your message to the shareholders? What about the customers? Our Shareholders should stay calm, trust their company and be assured of higher returns on their investments, in terms of higher earnings, dividends, market value of their shares, not minding the difficulties in the Nigeria economy. Their company is in safe and good hands. Our Customers are strictly assured of quality products that continue to meet and exceed their expectations at a price that meet value. Vitafoam is very committed to deliver on this promise to our teeming customers. To the general public, I encourage you to be deliberate in having quality sleep, sound mental health and healthy living. Health they say is wealth. You can visit our website blog http://www.vitafoamng.com/store/blog/ for great articles written by Dr. Charles Uzodimma on Quality Sleep and Healthy Living. At 60, what will you identify as the company’s most important achievements? At 60, the business has successfully delivered the dream of a Vitafoam beyond mattresses “much more than mattresses”. The business diversification was strategically targeted at turning our competitors to our customers. The birth of 5 subsidiaries and expansion to Sierra Leone in the last 10 years has delivered that aspiration and keeps adding value to the business in no small measure. Vitafoam over the years has metamorphosed from being a household name in the production of just mattresses and pillows into being a foremost provider of ultimate comfort products. Over the years, we have transcended beyond the sleep business to the living business, as we now manufacture semi rigid and rigid polyurethane foam products including furniture, bed and bedding, insulated panels, car oil filter, and molded products that make you experience totalWhilecomfort.others are running to Europe and other places to look for materials; those materials are manufactured by our subsidiaries and supplied to Vitafoam. These are part of what we are benefiting from setting up these subsidiaries and they have been of tremendous help to the operations of Vitafoam. Also, we have impacted greatly in the society we operate through various corporate social responsibility initiatives. The polyurethane laboratory that Vitafoam donated to University of Lagos in 2018 has helped many students and researchers within and outside the university community. Vitafoam as a group has generated great employment opportunities and business opportunities for Nigerians as we have the highest distribution network in West Africa. Our tradition of celebrating the first baby of the year, products donations to hospitals, orphanage homes and schools are some of our initiatives that the impact is truly far reaching. Every year, we sponsor the i-create club in nurturing and developing creativity in primary schools’ pupils. Currently, Vitafoam has signed an agreement with a certified sleep expert, Dr Charles Uzodimma, and he has been educating Nigerians via a weekly article on Quality Sleep and Healthy living because we are truly passionate about the general wellbeing of Nigerians. Could you briefly tell us the various problems that Vitafoam subsidiaries are providing solutions to in the Nigeria Economy? Vitafoam in her vision and foresight, thought it wise to develop businesses that will cater for the various household furnishings and in recent times automobile parts: our customers a vast array of high quality pillows, bedsheets and duvets for everyone including mother and child. Vitablom is a major player in the soft furnishing, beddings, flat sheet fibre and scouring sponge market in Nigeria. commissioned in 2021, is the pioneer manufacturer of oil filters for automobiles in Nigeria. Vitaparts currently produces two variants of oil-filters for automobiles: Spin-on filter and Cartridge filter. commissioned in 2010, is an insulation manufacturing company into the production of Rigid Polyurethane foam insulation products. Vitapur manufactures, fabricates, and installs its various polyurethane rigid foam products, some of which include Prefabricated buildings, Sandwich panels, Insulation boards, Chemicals systems, and pre-cut pipe sections.

have lot of documents showing when we have started and how we have been complaining about this, do you know that some directors are earning less than 30,000, ”he lamented. However, in a swift reaction, the Head Corporate Communication at PTAD, Mr Gbenga Ajayi said the agency did not tamper with the scale provided by Salaries and Wages Commission in payment of pensioners’“Followingbenefits.theapproval for the implementation of the consequential adjustment to the pension benefits occasioned by the new minimum wage of 2019, PTAD commenced payment in May 2021 and has completely paid off the arrears from April 2019 to April 2021 to all the operational departments in the “BasedDirectorate”.onthecircular received from the National Salaries Incomes and Wages Commission, you can see that percentage of the monthly pension of pensioners was used to generate absolute figures for each Grade Level. Example: the Highest pension for someone who retired on GL 01 is N14, 733.44. The approved percentage increase for someone who earns N14,733 and below is 59 per cent. 59 per cent of N14,733.44 is N8,692.73. If you add the two figures, you get N23, 426.17. “Now, remember that some state pensioners with federal share earn less than N14,733.44, some earn less than N1,000 naira. Therefore, their new pension will not be up to N23, 426.17. However, with the consequential adjustment, no pensioner, even the state Pensioners with federal share, earns less than N8,692.73. PTAD did not, and has no right to go contrary to any directive from the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission, ”Ajayi stated.

Adeniyi: At 60, Our Business Has Delivered The Dream of Vitafoam Beyond Mattresses

Adeniyi

What distinguishes Vitafoam from the crowd in its operations? We offer a vast array of high and superior quality products that present the customers with multiple unique choices. We do not benchmark ourselves with what is available in the market. We benchmark ourselves with global standards and what global standards say is that your product must be fit for a purpose. Customer-centricity is at the centre of our operations. The sustained growth and good performance from the company is predicated on customer centric operations, focused on quality from the view point of our customers. In Vitafoam, our investment in state-of-the-art Technology and People have been the driving force and key success factors. Vitafoam has invested in young talents that today, over 80% of the workforce are below the age of 50. At 60, we are celebrating heritage of quality because we have mastered the art and the technology. We are good in bed. The Company has consistently posted robust earnings despite the tough operating environment, what are the facts behind the figures? The company has been consistently keeping to its core values, which are (1) Quality (2) Service (3) Sustainable action (4) Integrity (5) Respect for others and (6) Culture. These values have in no small ways helped Vitafoam Nigeria plc to weather the storms and turbulence over the years. Our predecessors laid a very solid foundation upon which the present management has been building upon and of which the future management shall adhere to. Also, the company has a very dedicated and committed Board, Management and Staff who have continued to contribute their quotas towards the success story of Vitafoam. At Vitafoam, we are 100% committed to our brand promise and customer satisfaction. What are the areas the company is trying to improve upon? As a customer-centric organisation that is passionate about the comfort and wellbeing of Nigerians, continuous improvement is our watchword. We intend to engage more with our customers and continue to develop capacities of our workforce to embrace smart sourcing and smart operations. Also, the company, being heavily dependent on foreign exchange for its raw materials and with the ever-increasing forex challenges, is working tirelessly towards investing in export-oriented business(s), this would be a more sustainable strategy to protect the future of the core business (Vitafoam). The Company is consolidating its core business by the introduction of innovative value-added products and services. It has become a full range solution provider for bedding and allied products. Its Comfort Centers provide a one stop shop for discerning consumers to experience its products in a unique way, and continuous expansion of our comfort centres to enable all Nigerians to experience our products wherever they live within the country.

LCFE is trying to deploy a solid infrastructure and solid risk management structure to support the ecosystem so that we can be able to participate on the global stage. We are working on bringing products that are of global demand standard with specification and we are happy that the LCFE is contributing to the ecosystem. How prepared are you as regarding price discovery and transparency trading four assets classes on LCFE? We have told everybody that cares to listen and I’ll repeat it here again that we are not commodity traders. A commodity trader is someone that gets a warehouse, buys commodities into the warehouse, and starts selling when the prices go up. If we wanted to be a commodity trader, we do not need the license of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to operate. We’re just a medium of exchange to give assurance for people that wanted to participate in that space. The assurance is that if you want to buy maize, among other commodities, ours is to assure you that we can deliver. It makes it easy for people to see how these asset classes are digitalized. So, they can have just paper notes to reflect them and if you decide you wanted to get your physical delivery, you can go and take it subsequently afterward. On the issue of price discovery and transparency, what we do is a two-way quote. A two-way quote in a situation where there is going to be threshold pricing; that is, the base price for anything. Then, the two-way quote allows that if you want to sell on the exchange, and you sell below the normal price on the exchange or a particular price globally, anywhere, there’s a system that mops it up from you; that’s a two-way quote. Now if you decide to sell above the global benchmark pricing, there is a system that will supply what you’re trying to buy. The essence is to allow buyers to work in compliance with global best practices and people who are not farmers will have a reference price they can use to determine how they sale their goods. We do not buy retail from people and we do not sell but the aggregators are those who aggregate the goods from various farmers and they are the ones that visit the exchange because they are the ones that have financial structures in place. At the same time, when they go out to aggregate those goods in small bits before it turns into a large size, which is tradable on the exchange, it is always nice for the famers and people that are selling to have a reference price of how much is wheat so that they will be fairly guided when they are selling theirWhengoods.you buy goods from them, and at the right price, it makes it easy for them to come back next season. If your price it below the expected price and kills their capacity for them not being able to visit the farm next season, you will not see them again when it was not profitable. However, when they have a reference point, for example, you decided to sale a particular product and you mentioned that the product is “X” amount, the farmer sees that the amount you have mentioned is below the price on the exchange, they will mention the price sold on the exchange, that is what we mean by transparency.

Akeredolu-Ale: Commodity Exchanges are Base of Economic Development

Harnessing Health Benefits of Parboiled Rice

of Bowen University, Iwo, Prof. Bolanle Otegbayo, recommended parboiling over other rice processing methods for enhancing the nutritional content of the “Parboiling,rice. which has been the means of processing rice in Nigeria, can be a way of improving the vitamin content and milling properties of rice and should attract the interest of food technologists and food processors to develop the rice industry,” she said. To improve gut health, one needs the starch in parboiled rice, which acts as a prebiotic, encouraging the growth of healthy bacteria in the gut. Having the right balance of microorganisms in one’s gut can impact everything from one’s health to mood, so opting for parboiled rice can be extremely beneficial to your overallAccordinghealth.to an article by Survivalmoms.com, Parboiled rice is an excellent type of rice to store for long-term purposes. It has more nutrients than brown rice, and because the bran has been removed, it won’t become rancid as brown rice will. It is also excellent in recipes because it stays firm throughout the cooking process. “If you have been hesitant about stocking up on unparboiled rice because of its limited nutritional value and on brown rice because of its limited shelf life, perhaps parboiled rice is what you have been looking for” the report noted. For the best-packaged parboiled rice brand in the market, look no further than Big Bull Rice, which is produced in a state-of-the-art automated rice milling factory and ensures that handling is limited to the barest minimum so that consumers only get parboiled rice produced in the best hygienic conditions. Underscored by good quality, safety and the great taste of home-grown ingenuity, Big Bull premium rice is readily available in open markets, neighbourhood stores, supermarkets, modern trade, etc. in varying SKUs (750g, 2.25kg, 5kg, 10kg, 25kg and 50kg,) to fit consumers’ preferences.

Akeredolu-Ale

29 29 THISDAY WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 17, 2022 BUSINESSWORLD INTERVIEW

PERSPECTIVE

The SEC currently is regulating eight Exchanges and we have five commodity Exchanges including LCFE. What are the ways these Exchanges are creating wealth and their impact on the nation’s macroeconomics at large? First of all, we need to understand the functions of commodity exchange and if you understand its functions, you will understand the primary role they play in any ecosystem, including the manufacturing sector. So, macroeconomically, commodity exchange is the base of any economic development and the commodity ecosystem determines the direction of any economy. The simplest example I’ll give is that the price of crude oil determines the price of petroleum products in finished products. The price of flour will at the end of the day determine the price of bread, and so on and so forth for various commodities. What we have done in the last 60 years in Nigeria, is that we have put the cart before the horse. We have been trying to activate our economy from the service sector. We pump money to the banks to on-lend to customers and then the banks make a good effort to on-lend to manufacturers, among other sectors. At the end of the day, these companies banks lend to, if the commodities don’t come at the right price and they have consumer’s resistance, then you start talking about the capacity of these institutions to be profitable. The moment these institutions are not profitable, then these manufacturing companies are moribund. Thereafter, these loans ended up with Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) as Non-Performing Loans (NPLs). Holistically from the beginning, if the pricing or availability of a commodity is not determined at the beginning, it is going to be difficult for the manufacturing sector to function and that is the role of commodity exchanges in the commodities ecosystem. The exchange played its role in creating price stability and an organized market for the purchase and sale of enforceable contracts to deliver a commodity such as wheat, gold, cotton, or a financial instrument at some future date. We have not touched on or addressed the issue of commodities in a structured way. Over the last 60 years, we have been arranging and working with commodities from the angle of an informal position. At a point in Nigeria, coal was sustaining our economy. For the last 60 years, crude oil has been sustaining our economy. At a point, groundnuts and Cocoa were sustaining our economy. All these things are commodities. If we know that all these are commodities that we need to sustain our economy, why can’t we build a structure around that ecosystem to be able to create wealth around it? Also, why can’t we create the multiplier effect of employment, engagement of people, expertise, transfer technology, and raise capital around that ecosystem? A lot of multinational agencies outside Nigeria and DFIs are always broken on how to create development finance in Nigeria, particularly in the agricculture space. Most of them have resulted into NGO and other means, trying to inject capital into the agriculture space. The agriculture space affects human capital directly and that sector is very crucial in economic development. These foreign investors have not been able to find a proper structure. If we have a commodity whereby they can see pricing, price discovery and proper channels through which they can inject capital into commodities ecosystem and Nigeria’s economy, they will find it easier to deploy capital into the agriculture space. That is how commodity exchanges function and start creating wealth, which at the end of the day, you will start to see the multiplier effect. If you look at our mission statement and our vision statement, it is very clear. We wanted to see how we can improve the growth of Nigeria’s GDP to double-digit. Nigeria’s economy is working at almost the bearish threshold and there is a lot of headspace to be able to grow our economy at a fast pace and develop it very well. How has the Russia/Ukraine war sharpened the domestic and foreign commodities exchange? There is a negotiation for new world order and some of the mix people have created around certain currencies in the past has been busted now. What we’re seeing is that there is an opportunity for some developing economies to grow and it is time for them to be able to participate on the global stage. What that goes to show is that if you have a country of 200 million people that is an asset on its own; a very useful population is an assets. There is no economy in the world that can underrate Nigeria’s economy when it comes to consumption. Some people will say Nigeria is a consuming economy but it shows the potential of what we can be if we wanted to become a producing economy. We have three fallouts from Russia/Ukraine war. One of them is that we have been able to see the resilience of Gold, which is one of the asset classes that were traded on LCFE. Russia has been able to use gold very well to stabilize whatever they’re doing and they had amassed a lot of it before they started prosecuting the war to defend the Ruble. Then, you have the issue of Wheat produced in Ukraine and we have seen the multiplier effect of the invasion on Wheat globally. We could have expected that the multiplier effect will be more than what is happening in Nigeria. But you realize that Nigeria started at an earlier time, creating homegrown Wheat and the impact has not been as bad as some other parts of the world. Now you see that some people are prosecuting a war now, globally, and in essence, what they’re using to fight the war is commodities. If you know that countries can use commodities to fight a war, then you will understand the role of commodity exchange in the ecosystem. It gets to show that commodities can be assets, at the same time, it can be weaponised, which has been done in the case between Russia and Ukraine. What that goes to show is that in the next two-three years, you will realize that for people writing off the economy of Nigeria, they will be shocked because Nigeria is a gas country. So, Nigeria is still a very formidable country. If you look at the distribution of the assets and resources in Nigeria, you’ll be shocked that Nigeria is a blessed country and I’ll let you repeat this. Nigeria, and Nigerians, we do not have any reason to be poor. We are working on Gold. We have shown the example for people to see the Gold coins during the inauguration of the LCFE in July. Those Gold coins were mined in Osun state, Nigeria. We have arable lands to plant various crops in Nigeria and a lot of mineral resources to show the strength we have in our economy.

The Managing Director, Lagos Commodities and Futures Exchange, Mr. Akin Akeredolu-Ale in this interview with Kayode Tokede speaks on the role of commodity exchanges in economic development, How Nigeria failed to addressed the issue of commodities in a structured way and the country’s potential to compete in the global commodity ecosystem, improve Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by double-digit.

Steven Okon W ith different varieties of rice in the marketplace at your disposal, you might be wondering which one offers the most value for your money. In terms of health benefits, there are many reasons to believe parboiled rice is a cut above the rest. There are two major forms of rice, parboiled and un-parboiled. Un-parboiled refers to milled rice that has had its husk, bran, and germ removed without parboiling. This process significantly reduces its nutritional value. Whilst brown rice is unrefined and unpolished rice produced by removing the surrounding hull of the rice kernel. Parboiled rice is partially pre-cooked in its inedible husk before being processed for eating. Over the years, this process has become much more sophisticated but still remains a common way of improving the texture, increasing the shelf life and health benefits of rice. The parboiling process reduces some of the nutritional loss that often occurs during the rice milling process. This makes parboiled rice a healthier alternative with higher retention of key important elements, such as iron, copper, magnesium, phosphorus, selenium, and zinc, as well as the presence of fewer carbohydrates, more fibre, and more protein. Moreover, parboiled rice brands like Big Bull Rice are rich in Vitamins B1 (Thiamine), B3 (Niacin), B5 (Pantothenic Acid), B6 (Pyridoxine), B7 (Biotin), B9 (Folic Acid), and B12 (Cobalamin), which perform several protective and regenerative functions in the body, from helping to form red blood cells and easing food metabolism to maintaining healthy skin and lowering the level of bad cholesterol in the body. In a recent study, a researcher at the Food Science & Technology Department

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Obviously, it is not the best of times for the Naira in recent times amidst a weak export base. What do you think is the problem and what is the way out? The Naira is simply overvalued and with very little demand for the Naira in the global market (due to a weak export base), there is really no miracle that can be performed for it to gain value in the short term (aside from the artificial defending of it by the CBN, which currently has very little FX liquidity. The parallel (black) market is perhaps a true indicator of the real value of the Naira presently despite the CBN suggesting that the market is artificially inflated. The supply-demand dynamics are clear for all to see. The obvious way for the Naira to gain value is that we become net major exporters of goods and services and demand for the Naira will gradually increase. However, a short-term solution could be to remove the current controls on cryptocurrency transactions as it provides an alternative source of accessing foreign currency outside the CBN and parallel market. Despite the transaction restrictions by the CBN, Nigeria remains one of the highest crypto trading countries globally. I believe a progressive-thinking government should have looked out for how to harness the opportunities within that sector rather than out-rightly banning it. What is your assessment of the Nigerian economy considering the current global headwinds? In my humble opinion, the Nigerian economy is teetering on the brink of collapse with no clearly defined strategy in place to deal with the effects of the global headwinds. Inflation levels are at a record high largely caused by cost-push factors, the unemployment rate has remained above 33 per cent, and government debts are at the highest levels the country has ever witnessed but more worrisome is that we are using almost 100 per cent of our revenue in debt servicing. GDP growth has shrunk by almost 15per cent in the last quarter but remains around 3 per cent annually, which is below par for a country with so much potential. The Naira has been in a free fall despite the central bank’s best efforts to continuously defend it, albeit an exercise in futility. Foreign direct investment has continually dwindled and will likely remain low till at least after the general elections but is still hinged on the effects of the Russia-Ukraine crisis. Our delisting from the JP Morgan emerging market sovereign list is perhaps the culminating assessment of where we are economically as a country. Also, there are inconsistencies between the monetary and fiscal in terms of policy direction and synergy, and this has exacerbated the problem and added to the economic malaise.

BUSINESSWORLD INTERVIEW 30

In this exclusive chat with James Emejo, the Managing Director/Chief Executive, Credent Investment Managers Limited, Mr. Ibrahim Shelleng, paints a grim picture of the country’s dire economic conditions occasioned largely by the current global headwinds. He, among other things, discussed an array of macroeconomic issues and how the relevant authorities can respond appropriately to steer the economy out of the woods.

Shelleng: FG Must Take Urgent Step to Revive the Economy

Let’s look at the nation’s capital market: has it been living up to its mandate in terms of mobilisation of capital for long-term infrastructure? What are your thoughts? The Nigerian Capital Market is a potential sleeping giant and has remained largely underutilised. However, this could be attributed to investor apathy still lingering after the 2007-2008 financial crisis and stock market collapse. However, with the new reforms and revision of the 10-year Capital Market Masterplan, there is certainly more impetus towards harnessing the capital markets. There are currently two infrastructure funds listed on the FMDQ exchange and the Federal Government Sukuk Bonds for various infrastructure funding have all been oversubscribed, which shows positive investor appetite. Whilst domestic debt may be deemed as generally more expensive, it limits the country’s exposure to currency and interest rate risk amidst current hikes in interest rates by central banks globally. With the FGN’s current debt exposure, it may find it increasingly difficult to access foreign funding and as such a viable option is the domestic market. The impetus is on capital market operators to create the products and structures to harness the domestic capital. How would you assess the synergy between the fiscal and monetary policies and their effects on economic management? I believe that the lack of synergy has been one of the major reasons why the economy has performed so poorly. On the fiscal side, the Ministry of Finance has been largely focused on borrowing and raising taxes to fund a deficit budget despite the stagnated economy, whilst the CBN has been battling inflationary pressures and defending the Naira caused by the country’s overexposure to importation and other cost-push factors that cannot be tackled by monetary policy alone. The fiscal side should be concerned with providing an enabling environment for economic growth, encouraging local production, and improving domestic trade whilst moderating areas that have unfair advantages and excesses. However, political and socioeconomic constraints have hampered efforts on that front. The onus has, therefore, been passed to CBN, whose actual function is supposed to be to complement fiscal policy by providing adequate liquidity in the key areas needed for fiscal policy to be effective. The CBN has now found itself delving into aspects of fiscal policy by not only determining economic policy e.g. banning certain imported items from accessing forex or encouraging local production through schemes such as the Anchor Borrowers programme but also providing direct funding to key sectors to stimulate growth. To be fair, the CBN has probably reached the limit of its powers in terms of economic management and the onus lies on the fiscal to take a leading role in the economy rather than merely being focused on how much revenue or borrowing the government can get. Decisions on how the economy can be effectively managed with less borrowing cost-cutting and mobilizing domestic funding sources in conjunction with the CBN will provide the much-needed synergy for better economic management.

Foreign direct investment is needed more than ever to stabilise the economy, do you think this can be achieved in the current state of the country? Typically, there are certain conditions a country must meet to attract significant foreign direct investment. These are political stability, stable exchange rate, low cost of production, and a generally favourable business environment (ease of doing business). Ask a layman on the streets of Nigeria today whether the country meets any of these conditions and I am sure you will get a negative response. The problem is further exacerbated by the global capital flight away from emerging markets caused by uncertainties due to the Russia-Ukraine crisis. Global fund managers, hedge funds and other investors that were favourable to emerging market investments due to potentially higher returns are de-risking their investment portfolios and pulling funds out of riskier regions to safer climes. If Nigeria wants to regain its status as the number one destination for FDI in West Africa (at least), then there are some significant factors that need to be addressed: insecurity, infrastructure, and economy.

The current government has been implementing reforms to remove obstacles to doing business in the country. How would you rate the outcomes so far? According to the World Bank’s annual ease of doing business rating, Nigeria’s current ranking is 131 out of 190 economies. I personally think that is a subpar ranking given the size of the economy and the potential within it. This administration has made some attempts in improving Nigeria’s ease of doing business ratings. President Muhammadu Buhari inaugurated the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC) in July 2016, with the Vice President as the Chairman.Thoughthe PEBEC has had some marginal successes such as ensuring some government agencies at least have functional websites, visas on arrival for foreign investors, strengthening of business incorporation process etc. Despite this, the reality is that the current administrations have failed to harness the potential of the private sector business and MSMEs as major drivers of the economy. Multiple taxations, insecurity, inadequate infrastructure, and stringent capital controls have crippled the MSME sector, which has brought about some of the poor economic indicators we are experiencing today. The MSME sector is a major employer of labour in most open market economies and therefore, its stifling has seen unemployment figures reach unprecedented levels.

What are your thoughts about the exchange rate regime? I believe the multiple exchange rate window has been a major determinant in our underperforming economy. Providing an arbitrage opportunity in a market like Nigeria merely gives rise to people making huge profits without producing and increasing the country’s GDP… all at the expense of the Nigerian economy. Furthermore, the government has spent billions over the years to defend the Naira but to no avail. Imagine if a fraction of that money was used in infrastructure development? The disparity between the official and parallel market rates is comical and will certainly be a negative indicator for the muchneeded foreign investment.

Inflation has been a major threat globally. How can Nigeria manage and survive its effects? Developed countries have been able to use their fiscal buffers and monetary policy to alleviate the effects of inflation but sadly countries such as Nigeria are left majorly exposed due to our over-reliance on imported goods and inadequate fiscal buffers to alleviate the inflationary effects on the economy. With the current global supply shocks, the cost of imported goods, especially food, has skyrocketed. However, this provides an opportunity for local production to improve. Ideally, the government would provide subsidies in key areas such as food but sadly the government is currently too cash-strapped amidst a burgeoning debt profile and dwindling revenue. Our sovereign wealth fund should ideally provide succour in times like this with the stabilisation fund earmarked for economic downturns. However, the Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) that manages our sovereign wealth was inadequately funded from inception with $2 billion seed funding, despite the oil boom during former President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration that saw oil prices reach above $140 per barrel. Nevertheless, it must be noted that the nature of inflation in Nigeria is typically cost-push caused by an increase in production costs due to increases in petrol/diesel prices, electricity tariff increases, and currency devaluation. As such, the onus would be on the government to spend in key areas that will lower the cost of production i.e. infrastructure, transportation etc.

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Shelleng

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 17, 2022 THISDAY

‘FG’s Indecisiveness in ExxonMobil-Seplat Deal Could Hurt Nigeria’s Oil Reform’ Oluchi Chibuzor with agency reports Bloomberg has knocked the federal government over what it termed a “flip-flop” in the ExxonMobilSeplat Energy shares deal, warning that indecisiveness on the part of the President Muhammadu Buhari administration could hurt Nigeria’s oil ExxonMobil,reform.Delaware, USA, had in February announced a $1.28 billion transaction, being the sale of its entire shares in Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited (MPNU) to Seplat Offshore Ltd., a subsidiary of Seplat Energy Nigeria, pending ministerialHowever,approval.the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, (NNPC), in a letter to ExxonMobil, insisted it wanted to exercise a right of first refusal, a move which many industry experts believe is not applicable to divestment of participating interest in the Joint Operating Agreement. NNPC equally dragged ExxonMobil to a Federal High Court in Abuja to block the deal’s consummation. President Buhari had however recently overruled both the NNPC and the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) by consenting to the sale in his capacity as the Minister of Petroleum Resources, but only to reverse himself a few days following a countermand of his consent byButNUPRC.analysing the situation, Bloomberg recalled that Buhari’s administration was trying to reverse dwindling production and attract major investment into the sector that generates more than 90% of export earnings”.

WEDNESDAY AUGUST 17, 2022 • THISDAY 31

Celebrating Tunji Abimbola, Atlantic Hall’s Astute, Indefatigable Principal

A n accomplished education consultant, school administrator, and school governor, with expertise in curriculum development, teacher and whole school appraisal and support, staff recruitment, retention and training, new school design, development, establishment and set-up and the provision of information, advice and career guidance to students and staff. Dr Abimbola took over as Principal of Atlantic Hall School in November 2020, at a time all aspects of lives were affected by the ravaging pandemic.Despitecontracting COVID-19 thrice within the space of the 19 months, he was principal, with one of those times being severe, he never succumbed or let that affect his call to duty but made sure the school felt his magic wand by facilitating transformational structures (in teaching and learning, pastoral care of the students, relationship development with parents, and leadership development), as evident in the success stories of students of the school at the global stage.Before joining Atlantic Hall, he was special adviser on education to the governor of Ogun between 2011 and 2015, acting principal at Day Waterman College, an 11-16 coeducational private boarding school in Abeokuta, Ogun, from April 2016 to September 2017 and the governor and chairman of the education committee at Day Waterman College from 2009 to 2017. It didn’t take him long to leave his remarkable imprints on the soil of Atlantic Hall School, with the latest of these being the success recorded by some of his students who received British Council Awards for the best results in Nigeria and the world, thereby going on to win three medals in all, as the best IGCSE result in Nigeria in Mathematics, best IGCE result in Nigeria in Economics and the best IGCSE result in the world in Food and Nutrition. Atlantic Hall School students equally won a national award for the Best Environmental Video, which focuses on sustainability and environment-friendly school.These and many other successes informed the decision of the PTA committee of the school to celebrate him as he steps out as principal of the school after two eventful years, to face his other life dreams and purposes, as well as spend quality time with his growing family. Speaking with THISDAY, an elated Abimbola said he is not considering retirement yet. “I am moving on to working with another renowned international firm, and we are going to start another building project in Dubai. But he is going to take about two or three months of rest before embarking on his next project in October,” he explained. “I also want to start an NGO, which will focus on assisting underprivileged children both in Nigeria, Africa and all over the world. And I also want to support children who need care, encouragement, motivation or mentorship. I want to do something that will continue to make me feel relevant and also contribute to the development of the youngReflectingones.”on his time at Atlantic Hall, he said, “The job I do, I rarely do it to be celebrated. I do it because I love working with children. So it’s strange to me that this kind of event is happening. years and has done such a fantastic and outstanding job for those years. We thought it was only fit and proper for us to have a quiet send-off for him here. “He is a hardworking man, if not almost a workaholic, very warm, friendly, very good with children, very open to suggestions and gets on very well with members of the PTA Exco. He’s like a big brother to us, and we are going to miss him,” Awobokun stated. “My parting word for him is for him not to go too far away from us because we are not going to let him go. He could change location, but he will always remain a member of the Atlantic family.”

The Chairman of the Governing Board of Trustees, Atlantic Hall School, Chief (Mrs) Eniola Fadayomi, described Abimbola as an experienced teacher, administrator, and seasoned educator. “We wish him the very best in all his endeavours. We are very happy and pleased to have had him with us, and we will miss him. But we will leverage all the educational and structural development he has left behind,” said Fadayomi.

Sunday Ehigiator writes that it was nothing short of gratitude and good wishes, as committee members of the Parents-Teachers Association, alongside some members of the Board of Trustees and management staff of Atlantic Hall School, recently held a valedictory dinner for the outgoing principal of the school, Dr. Tunji Abimbola

Abimbola added, “I believe that I have impacted my team in a positive and rewarding way. What I set out to do when I took up the appointment was to develop a system-driven school managed by a high-performing team, a team that can stand on its own and operate even without me being physically present. I have left behind a legacy of leaders at senior, middle and lower management levels. I have left behind happy children, happy parents, a satisfied board of governors, and a progressive school community. I have been empowered by God during these two effective and purposeful years to achieve these milestones. And I will cherish these two years for the rest of mySpeakinglife.” about the celebrant, the acting PTA Chairman, Atlantic Hall School, Mrs Maureen Awobokun, described him as hardworking and friendly. According to her, “He has been with us for two

investment of cultural education and history in NAFEST in the past four years.Headded, “And each state where NAFEST took place, we target and give robust support to children’s theatre, and full compliment to the reenactment of the history of our past heroes who contributed to our political evolution and NAFEST in Lagos will witness a new direction in this aspect.” Runsewe called on other state governments to follow suit and help restore the history of Nigeria to primary and secondary schools’ curricula to infuse

EDUCATION 32 THISDAY WEDNESDAY AUGUST 17, 2022

Runsewe

the love of the nation and people’s culture and tradition among young children.“Wemust take our children back from foreign cultural influences and help grow their faith and trust in Nigeria through the study of Nigerian history. It is long overdue, and we at NCAC join Lagos governor to celebrate this auspicious engagement by donating History books and narratives on pre-colonial Nigeria at NAFEST to all state participants,” Runsewe further explained. Lagos will host the 35th edition of the NAFEST in November.

Praises Sanwo-Olu for Restoring History to School Curriculum

The Director-General of the National Council for Arts and Culture (NCAC), Otunba Segun Runsewe, has commended Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu for restoring history as a subject to Lagos schools’Runsewe,curricula.whodoubles as president of the Africa Region of World Craft Council (WCC), said he was excited by the timely initiative. The NCAC boss disclosed that restoring Nigeria’s history to the Lagos curriculum was a welcome strategic decision by Sanwo-0lu, promising to organise a history of Nigeria session

for Lagos students during the 35th edition of the National Festival of Arts and Culture (NAFEST) in hasRunsewe.governorcheeringintroducepartandonschool“Strategically,November.wehavechildren’scompetitionarts,craftsandculture,definitelyhistorywillbeofthesubjectsweshalltocomplimentthismilestonefromtheofLagosstate,”saidAccordingtohim,afootholdbeenestablishedinthe

I’m, however, delighted that, when you work like this, you don’t understand that people around you notice the impact you’re making on the children and staff.”

L-R: Members, Board of Trustees, Atlantic Hall School, Mrs Towry Coker, Chief (Mrs) Taiwo Taiwo; Chairman Board of Trustees, Chief (Mrs) Eniola Fadayomi, out-going Principal, Atlantic Hall School, Dr Tunji Abimbola, and member, Board of Trustees Gbeminiyi Smith, at the recently held send-off dinner for Dr Tunji Abimbola

Speaking at the 2021/2022 graduation and valedictory service of King’s College, La gos, an old boy, who is the Consul of Namibia in Nigeria, Ambassador Chuma Anosike, stated, “Let these schools thrive because I think the unity schools present the best chance for Nigeria because when you get young people from that age living together, forging bonds of friendship, it’s a lot easier to deal with things later on in Anosike,life.”

Principal Harps on Self-discipline as Queen’s College Graduates 465 BIC Nigeria, EnactusPartner to Mentor Students on Skills Building Funmi Ogundare BIC, makers of stationery, lighters, and shavers, recently held a ‘ Mentor Me’, programme, a business skills-building workshop for Nigerian students in partnership with Enactus. Now in its fourth year, the programme was designed to expose participants to the inner workings of the organisation’s operations while teaching insightful lessons on how to achieve personal and professional success.Aspart of BIC’s commitment to improving learning conditions for 250 million students by 2025, the 2022 ‘Mentor Me’ programme included 15 Enactus Nigeria students from the University of Lagos, Bayero University, Kano and the University of Port Harcourt. The students took part in product innovation, negotiation, branding, sales, and marketing campaign planning. Students also interacted with BIC distributors and wholesalers. They also shared their learnings and recommended ways further to enhance the pricing and profitability of theSpeakingproducts.at the closing ceremony in Lagos, the General Manager of BIC Nigeria, Guillaume Groues, noted that the organisation continuously work to enhance learning conditions for students, adding that ‘Mentor Me,’ is a beneficial practical exercise which complements the Enactus national and world cup events, while giving students a taste of the real business world. Michael Ajayi, Country Director of Enactus Nigeria, stressed the need to make deliberate investments in developing the youths’ entrepreneurial mindset and mentoring them to become successful entrepreneurial leaders and social innovators.The move, he noted, would grow our economy and rid the nation of the social crisis we are currently facedWorkingwith.with organisations, such as BIC, on programmes to mentor, grow, and develop skill sets of the future generation through practical work and real-life implementation was essential, he stated. Ajayi added, “We are proud of the generations of Enactus students that we have worked with to date and the innovative start-up social enterprises they have put forward as projects and implemented, and are confident that such initiatives will guide today’s students to become the leaders of tomorrow.”

33THISDAY WEDNESDAY AUGUST 17, 2022 EDUCATION

Blessing Ibunge in Port Harcourt

2023: We’ll Make Education Relevant to Rivers

Maple Canadian College Students Get over $1m

King’s College Old Boys Seek Public-Private Partnership for Unity Schools

Youths, Says Lulu-Briggs

The Principal, Queen’s College, Lagos, Dr Tokunbo YakubuOyinloye, has advised outgoing students of the school to remain self-disciplined after leaving school.Shesaid this during the vale dictory service and graduation ceremony of the class of 2022 with the theme ‘’The making of precious gems’. She said as precious stones are formed through the processes of heat and pressure, the students have gone through the heat and pressure of Queen’s College and have come out triumphant. She also advised them always to appreciate their parents, pray for their teachers, and remember their alma mater. The President of the Queen’s College Old Girls’ Association (QCOGA), Mrs Ifueko Omoigui Okauru, said she identified with the graduands’ excitement, relief, anxiety and mixed feelings, hav ing been through the process over 44 years ago. She said the association has set out an ambitious strategic plan for 2019-2029 to re-establish Queen’s College as the number one ranked secondary school in Nigeria by 2029 in terms of infrastructure, education content, teacher quality measures and impactful leadership in the community.Okaurusaid the plan is to work within the ambit of the School-Based Management Committee (SBMC) to achieve the goals. She told the graduands to remember that the school torch had been handed to them in the class of 2022, “and you have a duty to keep passing it on, in words and deeds, in character and in giving.” The PTA Chairman, Adedamola Adewuyi, while congratulating the outgoing students, said the college had equipped them with all it takes to conquer the world in diverse professions and vocations. He said the journey to their next stage of life has already begun, and learning a new skill or trade - in addition to their planned career, will greatly enhance their standard of living. He announced cash prizes of N50,000, 30,000 and 20,000 to the best three students in UTME, respectively- Otielechi Esther338; Ozili Lohechukwu - 334; and Kalu Gift - 324. “Mouka Foam is also giving out a deluxe premium dream time mattress to the student with the best UTME result. The PTA also called on well-meaning individuals and corporate bodies to encourage excellence by rewarding distinc tion.

the guest speaker at the event with the theme ‘Dream versus realities: Life after college’, tasked the graduands to be hardworking and disciplined. The President of the King’s College Old Boys Association (KCOBA), Alhaji Kashim Ibra him Imam, said the members of the board of trustees and old students of the college have proposed to the government the need to hand over the running of the school on a PPP basis to the old boys. “As far as the old boys are concerned, we are very ready to fund it. Over the years, we have been doing that. For our centenary, the old boys spent N1 billion renovating the facilities. Some of the facilities are more than 100 years old and require routine maintenance,” Imam explained.Headded, “The schools will still remain the property of the federal government, but the government should allow old boys to manage the schools, I think we will do it better, and I also believe we will achieve more.”TheChairman of the SchoolBased Management Committee (SBMC), Jani Ibrahim, said, at inception, the school was founded to provide leadership, emphasising leadership as one of its core values. He said the college had maintained excellence in aca demics, discipline and sports. Unfortunately, along the line, there was an overpopulation of the college with limited resources available. In his remarks, the principal, Mr Andrew Agada, thanked the parents for their support and for trusting the school to groom their children and urged the graduands to imbibe the spirit of hard work and struggle to actualise their dreams. He said they had gained the basic knowledge, skills and wisdom they need in life and urged them to keep their eyes on the prize and always walk with God. The event’s high point was the presentation of a cash prize of N750,000 to one of the graduating students, Olaoluwa Lawal, for scoring 355 in this year’s JAMB UTME. Prizes were also presented to outstanding students in various subjects. The graduands were also inducted into the old boys association.

The governorship candidate of the Accord Party in Rivers, Chief Dumo Lulu-Briggs, has assured that if elected into office in 2023, his led government would make education affordable for youths. Lulu-Briggs made the promise at an interactive session in Port Harcourt with Rivers students led by a social-political organ isation under the aegis of ‘WE Agenda’.Thebusiness mogul, who also promised that, if elected, he would bring development closer to the people, said efforts of past and present administra tions in repositioning the state to compete with the economies and realities of its contemporaries have been insignificant. He said he would build a generation responsible enough to handle a better future for the“Icountry.havethe best of intention for Rivers students because they are our future. We all agreed we need a complete reorientation. So the next government is going to be a talking government that will tell people the rightness of their actions and the wrongness of their actions, that will speak truth to them,” Lulu-Briggs explained.Hefurther stated, “We will be quite transparent so that the young people will understand the right things they should do. There is going to be total value reorientation because they are our future. One of the major reasons I want to be in govern ment is to see that we educate the next generation.”

The Principal, Queen’s College, Lagos, Dr. Tokunbo Yakubu-Oyinloye, with some members of the class of 2022, during their valedictory service and graduation ceremony recently Uchechukwu Nnaike Concerned about the spate of insecurity and disunity in the country, old boys of King’s College, Lagos, have harped on the continued existence of unity schools as they present the best chance for Nigeria. They also called for a publicprivate partnership to effectively run the schools and support the federal government in funding the 110 unity schools.

Uchechukwu Nnaike

Scholarship Funmi Ogundare Students of Maple Canadian College, Lekki, have received scholarships worth over $1 million in the 2021-22 academic year to enable them to further their studies abroad. The Principal, Mrs Tinuade Olufolabi, disclosed this in a statement, saying that the college, in partnership with Rosedale Academy Canada, has found a way to wave the magic wand by providing a 10-month pathway programme to the Ontario Secondary School Diploma ( OSSD), a certificate awarded by the Ontario Ministry of Education, Canada. “As we announce the over $1 million in scholarships awarded to our graduates by global institutions during the just concluded 2021–2022 academic year, Maple Canadian College celebrates beating the odds,” she said. She noted that the college has put in place state-of-the-art facilities required for learning, growth, and preparing students for the demanding life of international schooling.Theschool offers a grade 12 Canadian curriculum programme that combines the experience of on-site Canadian-trained course instructors and the topnotch Learning Management System (LMS). “We are proud of our 100 per cent admission success rate for postsecondary applications for our graduating students into international universities and colleges, as well as the over 90 per cent of our graduates who got scholarships totalling more than $1 million in the just concluded academic session,” said Olufolabi. Yearly, the principal noted, a total of 1.7 million scholarships are awarded, adding, “statistics indicate that just 7 per cent of college and university students will earn a scholarship, nonetheless. “This is primarily due to either the large number of scholarship applicants competing for limited available scholarships or the high academic requirements necessary to obtain one,” added the principal. Interested students that want to join Maple Canadian College can log on to the school’s website to register at ca/admissions/.https://maplecc.

the Nigeria Police Force in 1973 and was posted to the Nigeria Police College Ikeja, Lagos for his training. He recorded an excellent performance and drew respect and accolades from his course mates and instructors alike. On passing out from the Police College, he was posted to his first place of primary assignment, the Divisional Police Head quarters, Mile One Diobu, Port Harcourt, Rivers State as a General Duty Police Constable. He recorded an outstanding performance demonstrating excellence, gallantry, fearlessness and a high level of professionalism in the discharge of his duties.Hehad a distinguished and unblem ished career as a law enforcement officer. He readily got the best evaluation scores and recommendations and gained acceler ated promotion as a Non Commissioned officer, acquiring the ranks of a Police Corporal within one year and Police Sargent within three years of enlistment into the Force. He was promoted to the Inspectorate cadre within five years of his career. His sojourn as a Police Officer in Rivers State saw him pass through various towns and divisions.

Exit of a Permanent Good Man, Sir Emmanuel N. Dinwoke (KSJI, ACP Rtd)

young Emmanuel was conscripted into the Biafra army, where he showed ad mirable gallantry and soon gained quick promotions.Asignificant fallout of the civil war and a major setback to his educational pursuit and career was the death of his father, Chief Ugwuoke Dinwoke just as the war wasWithending.thecessation of war hostilities in 1970 and faced with a grim and bleak future, Dinwoke settled for classroom teaching. He gained employment and had a brief stint as a teacher at the Daughters of Divine Love Juniorate, Isienu in the Nsukka Division of the then East Central State of Nigeria from 1971 to early 1973. Driven by the quest for higher education, Dinwoke privately enrolled and commenced a distance learning programme with the then Exam Success Correspondence College, Yaba, Lagos and successfully completed the correspon dence course and obtained his Cambridge Advanced Level General Certificate in Education with good grades in 1982. He was visionary, focused, and purpose-driven with a desire to have a successful career in public service. It was in line with this inclination that he chose the Nigeria Police Force as a career path after his short-lived stint as a classroom teacher. He was enlisted in

Late Emmanuel N. Dinwoke

When it comes to individuals who have shown consistency in making igniting impacts for youths and the girl child to put their best foot forward around STEM education, the Group Lead, Digital and Innovation Support Group at the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Mrs. Chiaka Ben-Obi remains a shining light and role model. Ben-Obi's intentions have been described as noble as they are crystal. It is to create the change she craves to see; lead the way as an individual of impact and leave a lasting legacy that generations to come will be grateful for. Hence, her continuous philanthropic acts and generosity across the board to positively affect lives is one of the reasons she was recognised with the One In Tech Foundation Leadership Award by the ISACA Abuja Chapter at the ISACA Abuja Award Dinner noght 2022. This is because ISACA Abuja Chapter is on a mission to foster the education of individu als for the improvement and development of their capabilities and competencies building a pipeline of the next-gen of digital professionals, helping the government bridge the gap in digital inequality while recognising honest efforts. And Ben-Obi is a fit. These were the words of ISACA Abuja Chapter President, Mr Emmanuel Omoke, who hailed Ben-Obi as a notable personality that is making the institute and the nation proud. Hence, the institute saw the need to award her. "She is using her office as the Group Lead, FIRS Digital and Innovation Support Group to promote STEM education by providing the enabling environment for individuals, corporate bodies and stakeholders in the technology space that can come together and build alliances that would foster digital literacy across communities," says Omoke. Portfolio As someone who exudes excellence, Ben-Obi is at the helm of affairs as the Group Lead, Digital and Innovation Support Group of the FIRS, where she oversees a couple of departments with the responsibility of transforming FIRS into a digitalised organisation. It is no gainsaying that Ben-Obi's resumé makes no noise. She holds a Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) degree in Political Science and Public Administration from the University of Maiduguri, Nigeria. She also bagged an MBA from the University of Hull, United Kingdom; a Postgraduate Diploma in Information Systems Development from London Guildhall University, United Kingdom; and an alumnus of the Lagos Business School. Upon completion of her MBA, she started a Master's Programme in Information System Development. Since then, she has been in tech in many capacities in the private sector, cutting across industries, will undeniably position the girl-child for better opportunities, Ben-Obi is not backing down in her quest to help the spread of digital literacy across communities.

Ben-Obi: Garlands for Excellence, Philanthropy

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

edition

The Group Lead, Digital and Innovation Support Group at the Federal Inland Revenue Service FIRS, Mrs. Chiaka Ben-Obi is one tech amazon that continues to break the status quo to create positive outcomes in the country. With her recent recognition as One In Tech Foundation Leadership Award recipient powered by ISACA Abuja, she is equipping the female child across the nation with coding skills amongst a host of others. Write Rebecca Ejifoma and Maduabuchi Ubani before joining the public sector. She was the Director of the Modernisation Department, with the overall responsibility of delivering the modernisation agenda projects, aimed at transforming FIRS into a modern, efficient and effective tax administration agency. In the last three years, Ben-Obi has been very intentional in helping children get engaged with the ever-evolving world of digital literacy. This she has done by working with an organisation that trains children across communities to start early in leveraging the abundant windows in technology.

CITYSTRINGS 34 THISDAY 2022

Creating Opportunities for Others Interestingly, the FIRS Group Lead boss believes that soft skills like communication, collaboration, leadership, strategy and even critical thinking among other hands-on skills have proven results in raising well-rounded children who are poised to solve some of the challenges within their communities. These skills hover around technology and the tremendous possibilities it presents to children of this genera tion and beyond. While it has become a common sight to see children from humble backgrounds or even underserved communities who have become global individuals of impact and influence all because they were exposed to technology educa tion at an early age in life, many of these kids have gone on to compete with their counterparts on a global scale were able to do so due to the sponsorship they received from platforms or individuals who stand in the gap. Today, Chiaka is actively involved in the summer coding class for children, powered by the ISACA Abuja Chapter. This is because of the vast benefits that coding holds. According to research, coding develops problem-solving skills. This could help children learn to quickly fix and try again in different ways when something doesn't work out. Coding also equips kids with the ability to stick with a problem and work on finding a solution. This problem-solving technique is transferable to a lot of other fields. More so, coding can help one to understand technology. It enhances problem-solving skills and can be applied to data visualisation. Today, coding is a universal language and can improve careerIndeed,prospects.having set out to change the narrative for the girl-child, Ben-Obi isn't backing down any time soon. Her passion to make a true and measurable impact while setting the agenda is her core mandate. As a true leader, this remains one of her contributions to substantive improvement for every girl child across the nation.

Importance of Coding While conceding that there is an ever-growing need to help young people learn skills that

Mrs Chiaka Ben-Obi holding her plaque as recipient of the One In Tech Foundation Leadership Award at the ISACA Abuja Award Dinner Night in Abuja recently Victor Okey Dinwoke The dawn of 21st November 1948, as authentic records heralded some significant luminous fore boding for the family of Chief Ugwuoke and Lolo Nwakaego Dinwoke (both of blessed memory) as it marked the birth of a vibrant neonate with an uncanny destiny. As custom demanded, that child was soon named Nnadi by his paternal uncle, Ihe an’ebo agu. He was much later baptised and christened Emmanuel in the Catholic Church. Chief Sir Emmanuel Nnadi Dinwoke (KSJI, ACP Rtd) was the second son and the fourth of five children of his mother, Nwaka Dinwoke (Nee Ezikeanyi of Amogbo Amabokwu Aku) – the first wife of DinwokeUgwuoke.first enrolled for Primary education in St Gregory’s Elementary School (Central School), Aku in the mid to late 1950s. He later changed to Central School, Nze, Ojebe Ogene, Udi Division where he completed his Standard Six and obtained his First School Leaving Certifi cate in 1961. He began to show flashes of brilliance and extraordinary intellect which stood him out amongst his peers in the early years of his education. Upon completion of his primary education, he proceeded to the prestigious New Bethel College, Onitsha where he had his secondary education from 1961 to 1966 and came out with flying colours. The events and adverse consequences of the Nigeria/Biafra civil war of 1967 to 1970 negatively impacted Emmanuel’s further education. As the times then dictated,

WEDNESDAY AUGUST 17, 2022 • THISDAY 35

Techno Oil Group Bags ISO 9001: 2015 Certification

FMDQ Deepens Derivatives Market With “Q-Estimator”

L-R: 2nd Vice President, Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers (CIS), Fiona Ahimie; Vice President, Saheed Bashir, Annual Stockbrokers’ Conference Committee Chairman and Registrar and Chief Executive, Chatered Institye of Stockbrokers (CIS) , Josiah Akerewusi during interactive session with Capital Market Correspondents in Lagos the on 2022 Annual Stockbrokers’ Conference, which is scheduled to hold in Benin City, Edo State

The OPEC Reference Basket of Crudes (ORB) is made up of the following: Saharan Blend (Algeria), Girassol (Angola), Djeno (Congo), Zafiro (Equatorial Guinea), Rabi Light (Gabon), Iran Heavy (Islamic Republic of Iran), Basra Light (Iraq), Kuwait Export (Kuwait), Es Sider (Libya), Bonny Light (Nigeria), Arab Light (Saudi Arabia), Murban (UAE) and Merey (Venezuela).

OPEC DAILY BASKET PRICE AS AT THURSDAY, MAY 7

Dike Onwuamaeze The Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) has awarded ISO 9001: 2015 Certification to Techno Oil Limited for complying with best practices and international standards.ISO9001:2015 Certification is a quality management systems award, bestowed on companies by SON for full compliance with quality standards and best practices in management. The award ceremony took place at Techno Oil Head Office in Lagos yesterday, August 16, 2022, where presentation of the certificate to the company was performed.Speaking on the latest SON certification, the Group Managing Director of Techno Oil, Mrs. Nkechi Obi, described the award as another laurel clinched by the company. “With this award, Techno Oil will continue to ensure and sustain compliance with both local and international standards at every level of our operations.“Weare excited with the award as a recognition of our commitment to best practices and we are ever grateful to SON for being our partner in progress,” sheObisaid.described the certification as another milestone recorded by the company, having received ISO 9001:2008 in the past. ``This shows our unalloyed commitment to best practices as a company,’’ she added.

The Chief Executive Officer, Advansio, Olufisayo Oludare, has stated that the passage Act and the startup bill would vital for the growth of the technology startups in the country. The Nigerian Startup Bill was passed on July 20, 2022, by the Nigerian Senate. The Startup Bill 2022, which is awaiting Presidential assent, seeks to create a friendly business environment for tech-based startups in Nigeria. Oludare, who disclosed this at the Advansio Fintech Growth conference with the theme: “Bridging the Gap Between where Fintech is and where it Should be,” said the CAMA Act and the Fintech startup bill would address some of the challenges that the startup faces such as taxes. He also stated that before the coming of CAMA Act, no matter what a startup was earning, they had to pay a particular amount of money to government. He further explained that with the coming of the CAMA Act, businesses concerns have been excluded from paying some amounts because they didn’t reach a particular threshold which is helping small business, “because the money that I’m supposed to pay to the government, I will put it back into my business.”Inhisremarks, Co-Founder, Advansio, Ikenna Agugua, expressed confidence that in the next five years, the growth in the fintech ecosystem would attract a lot of collaborations. He added: “In the next five years, there would be the fintechs coming together in partnership with the banks as well. Coming together means that at the end of the day, we will definitely have growth within the space. We need to have as many fintechs possible, to help take Nigerians and Africa to where it needs to be when it comes to technology. So yes, in the next five years, I believe that the Fintech would have a huge impact, within the technology ecosystem in Nigeria.”

AFEX CCC Program Creates Solutions to Boost Agriculture, Finance Ayodeji Ake Nigeria’s leading commodities market player, AFEX, recently hosted the third edition of its Code Cash Crop event in Lagos to support the integration of agriculture, finance, and technology that create sustainable solutions to some of the most pressing food system challenges in TheAfrica.theme of the event was, “Disrupting Agriculture Trade Infrastructure,” and it brought together next-generation innovators, business professionals, entrepreneurs, agric specialists, investors, development partners, and policymakers in the three sectors to identify innovative and viable solutions to Africa’s Trade Infrastructure in a series of panel discussions, mentorship sessions, and network meetings.

CEO, Co-founder, Releaf, Ikenna Nzewi, speaking at the panel discussion on the topic, “The Present and Future of Agriculture Commodity Trade in Africa,” stated that ‘it’s important to carry out a comprehensive research for solutions, especially technologies that apply to smallholder farmers which should be tailored to their needs.The Country Manager, Microsoft (Nigeria & Ghana), Olatomiwa Williams, in her opening remarks said there is a, “need to focus on accelerating growth in the sector. Innovating in areas where agriculture faces challenges will help farmers scale their business, and it’s essential to simplify technology for smallholder farmers.”

Commenting on the significance of Code Cash Crop, Chief Technology Officer, AFEX, Yusuf Oguntola, said the company, “believes that it is essential to nurture a culture of collaboration and innovation, especially if we are to effectively tackle some of today’s urgent agriculture challenges. We are happy to see the next generation of innovators from the fields of technology, finance, and agriculture pitch viable solutions for optimizing agriculture trade infrastructure.” He added that technology will be key in promoting a platform model for agriculture trade that can focus on providing access to logistics, access to advisory services, access to inputs, and access to the market, which are all key to the future of agriculture in Africa.

into law of Companies and Allied Matter (CAMA)

Kayode Tokede The FMDQ Securities Exchange Limited said it has added a new offering to its universe of innovation with the launch of an automated hedging calculatorQ-Estimator,“Q-Estimator”.according to a statement obtained from the Exchange is to equip market participants with a tool that aids strategic and informed investment decision-making in the Nigerian financial markets, particularly the derivativesAccordingmarket.tothe statement, Q-Estimator provides market participants the opportunity to estimate the total cost to be incurred at the point of purchase of derivatives contracts on the Exchange.Thestatement explained further that, “Derivatives are primarily risk management instruments used to hedge against financial exposures from unforeseen and unwanted fluctuations in the rates or prices of an underlying asset. “In the global financial system, hedging products are market enablers, allowing businesses and investors around the world to invest freely, effectively hedge their risks and invariably contribute to economic growth. “The Q-Estimator, the first of its kind, aids in trading simulation, wherein market participants simulate positions in the market to estimate profit or loss at predetermined maturity date. The introduction of Q-Estimator will benefit all existing and prospective clients of the FMDQ Exchange-Traded Derivatives market, which include, but are not limited to, banks, fund/asset managers, insurance companies, corporate institutions, foreign investors, and“Theindividuals.launchof the Q-Estimator builds on the robust capacity development programmes that FMDQ Exchange continues to host, in preparing prospective investors for the launch of its Exchange Traded Derivatives products.”Sinceactivating the FMDQ Derivatives Market Development Project in 2018, FMDQ Exchange, through the FMDQ Academy franchise, has organised a series of bespoke training sessions, benefitting over 2,600 participants, including financial market regulators, financial institutions, relevant market associations, corporates, media practitioners, etc.

BUSINESS/ MONEYGUIDE Oludare: Passage of CAMA Act, Startup Bill Vital for Growth of Tech Startups MARKET INDICATORS MONEY AND CREDIT STATISTICS (MILLION NAIRA) JUNE 2022 Money Supply (M3) 48,865,823.53 -- CBN Bills Held by Money Holding Sectors 167,956.2 Money Supply (M2) 48,797,867.32 -- Quasi Money 28,405,330.1 -- Narrow Money (M1) 20,392,537.22 ---- Currency Outside Banks 2,722,785.91 ---- Demand Deposits 17,669,751.32 Net Foreign Assets (NFA) 6,242,394.29 Net Domestic Assets(NDA) 42,623,429.24 -- Net Domestic Credit (NDC) 57,267,178.05 ---- Credit to Government (Net) 17,996,690.06 ---- Memo: Credit to Govt. (Net) less FMA 0.00 ---- Memo: Fed. and Mirror Accounts (FMA) 0.00 ---- Credit to Private Sector (CPS) 39,270,488 --Other Assets Net 5,566,430 Reserve Money (Base Money 11,320,304 --Currency in Circulation 3,259,269.15 --Banks Reserves 11,320,303.72 --Special Intervention Reserves 384,377.56 Money Market Indicators (in Percentage) MonthJune 2022 Inter-Bank Call Rate 11.10 Minimum Rediscount Rate (MRR) Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) 13.00 Treasury Bill Rate 2.45 Savings Deposit Rate 1.38 1 Month Deposit Rate 3.48 3 Months Deposit Rate 4.55 6 Months Deposit Rate 4.97 12 Months Deposit Rate 5.30 Prime Lending rate 12.29 Maximum Lending Rate 27.61 36 THISDAY AUGUST 17, 2022 Ugo Aliogo

MAIN BOARDDEALS

MARKETPRICE QUANTITYTRADED VALUE TRADED(N)MAIN

BOARDDEALS

THISDAY 37 Kayode Tokede The Nigerian Breweries Plc has announced a total sum of N274.03 billion as revenue for the first half (H1) of the 2022 financial year ended June 30, 2022. The company also recorded a Profit After Tax (PAT) of N19.08 billion during the filedreportAccordingperiod.totheunauditedandprovisionalresultswithTheNigerianExchange Limited, the company experienced a 31per cent growth in revenue compared to the N209.22 billion recorded in the corresponding period in The2021.results also revealed Profit After Tax for the sixmonth period under review rose by 142.8 per cent, from N7.86billion to N19.08billion. Similarly, basic earnings per share in H1 2022 was 237 kobo as against 97 kobo that was recorded in H1 last year. According to a statement signed by the company secretary/Legal Director, Uaboi Agbebaku, the company’s increase in profit was driven mainly by top line growth resulting from its pricing strategy and better mix. Further analysis of the results revealed that the Cost of Sales increased by 18.3per cent, from N131.34 billion in H1, 2021 to N155.35 billion in 2022 in the same corresponding period. Marketing, Distribution, and Administrative expenses also rose by 44.6 per cent, from N58.42 billion in H1, 2021 to N84.45 billion in H1, 2022, driven by the increase in commercial activities post-COVID, rising diesel prices and higher wages arising from collective labourUaboiagreementsalsonoted that although interest expenses were lower, the net finance PRICES FOR SECURITIES TRADED AS OF 16 /8/2022

MARKETPRICE QUANTITYTRADED VALUE TRADED(N) Nigerian Breweries Records N274.03bn Revenue, Declares N19.08bn Profit

cost was higher due to foreign exchange losses arising from a higher cost of meeting foreign obligations to overseas partners.“Despite these challenges, our business continues to build momentum and deliver consistent profitable growth even in the context of a very challenging operating environment. Our best-in-class portfolio of brands provides a unique platform that positions us well to lead and grow the beer and malt category and drive superior long-term value creation,” the statement added.The company, therefore, assured its stakeholders that it would continuously evaluate its financial position and business performance to ensure a strong balance sheet, while remaining dynamic in its response to operational challenges vis-à-vis the economy.

38 THISDAY Afrinvest West Africa Limited Adedoyin Allen | aallen@afrinvest.com Taiwo Ogundipe | togundipe@afrinvest.com Robert Omotunde | romotunde@afrinvest.com Christopher Omoh | comoh@afrinvest.com Brokerage Asset Management Abiodun Keripe | AKeripe@afrinvest.com Investment Research TickerPricePriceChg% BUAFOODS59.9510.0% NEM4.4110.0% COURTVILLE0.569.8% IKEJAHOTEL1.279.5% MULTIVERSE2.448.4% ABCTRANS0.307.1% JAIZBANK0.917.1% WAPCO24.956.2% HONYFLOUR2.836.0% WAPIC0.444.8% TickerPricePriceChg% BUACEMENT52.95-9.9% CHAMS0.28-9.7% CUTIX2.05-8.9% ELLAHLAKES4.00-7.0% UNITYBNK0.43-6.5% ACADEMY2.02-5.2% CHAMPION3.80-4.0% ARDOVA12.50-3.8% TRANSCORP1.07-2.7% RTBRISCOE0.38-2.6%TickerVolumePriceChg% ETRANZACT77.60.0% WAPIC37.14.8% FBNH30.51.4% UBA13.20.7% ZENITHBANK9.7-0.7% JAIZBANK8.87.1% GTCO7.5-0.2% STERLNBANK6.72.7% TRANSCORP6.6-2.7% HONYFLOUR6.66.0% TickerValuePriceChg% FBNH333.21.4% ZENITHBANK207.4-0.7% ETRANZACT176.90.0% GTCO154.0-0.2% MTNN124.00.0% BUACEMENT114.6-9.9% UBA92.70.7% DANGCEM90.8-2.3% BUAFOODS87.310.0% STANBIC60.5-0.2% Damilare Asimiyu | dasimiyu@afrinvest.com

Ajayi Crowther’s WrongTranslation of Èṣù into Devil

WEDNESDAY, THISDAY 39 THE ALTERNATIVE with Reno Omokri

M

The point I am making is that we need to study and properly situate the ancient Yoruba pantheon of gods, not so we can worship them, but so we can properly situate them. For instance, if we are calling a being, satan who is in fact not him, then the real satan is Yoruba-speaking people, who are adherents of Abrahamic faiths, are contaminated or corrupted by this wrong association. For instance, take Ifa worship. It consists mainly of divination. Now, when you hear that word, divination, it sounds mystical. But what it really is, is casting lots. And casting lots in Ifa worship goes back more than a millennia. We know this because of the Ife Bronze Heads which incorporate aspects of Ifa divination. Now, here is the interesting part. Casting lots, in a very similar fashion as Ifa divination was practiced in Scripture, in both the Old and New Testament. As a matter of fact, Casting lots is mentioned 47 times in scripture. It is mentioned in Leviticus 16:8, Numbers 26:55, Joshua 7:14 (which is almost exactly how it is used in Ifa divination), Joshua 18:6, 1 Samuel 14:42, Jonah 1:7 and many more verses of Scripture. In the New Testament, it is mentioned in ActsThe1:23-26.issueis this: Samuel Ajayi Crowther was taken by Fulani slavers as a slave from his village of Oshogun (now a town) when he was a child. He was subsequently sold to Portuguese slavers, who were arrested by theThereafter,British. he was given the name Samuel Ajayi Crowther, given a very thorough British education, which culminated in a PhD from Oxford University. Thereafter he was ordained by the Anglican Church and sent by the Church Missionary Society to promote not Christianity, but Anglicanism, which is a form of Christianity that is based more on Christendom (political Christianity) than the teachings of Christ. The manifest agenda of the Church Missionary Society was to Anglicise Africans. However, their hidden agenda was more sinister. They worked with commercial companies, like the Royal Niger Company, and the British Government, to further their colonial ambitions, which in summary was the political domination and commercial exploitation of Africa. So, while the Greek Pantheon of gods were romanticised by great British philosopher aristocrats, like Lord Byron, who fell in love with Greece, to the extent that he fought for Greece during their war of independence from the Ottomans, the Yoruba Pantheon satan, while the Greek Zeus, and the other Come to think about it. Samuel Ajayi Crowther innocently (and wrongly) translated Hebrew word Yeshua, which in Greek is Iisoús, from which we have the supposedly English Jesus? The word for Jesus in his translation Now, I am fairly certain this is a coincidence. liking, especially when you take into account the strong hold that freemasonry has over the Anglican Church, which was even stronger in the 18th and 19th century. And our people don’t really think this way. If you want to get a Black African to surrender his critical thinking ability, introduce religion. That is why Nigerian parents will buy clothes with Zeus, Thor, Diana, and Atlas (all European pagan gods) for their children to wear, but will teach those children to hate their own village cousins who have knowledge of Ifa Evendivination!asChristians and Muslims, we Africans, and especially the Yoruba, should study Ifa divination. There is science in Ifa divination. We can extract the science, and question or even reject the cleromancy. Do you know that the Yoruba Ifa divination has names for elements, like iron, bronze, kaolin, clay, etc. And they had these elements 1869, Dmitri Mendeleev invented the periodic table which we use today. That is not voodoo, or juju, or witch doctoring. That is science! Ancient African science. If we as a people can accept and practice Trinity, Christmas, Easter, Sunday worship, carvings and idols of supposedly Christ and saints (which Exodus 20:4 strongly condemns), and many other pagan European ideas that were smuggled into Christendom by free masons and Rosicrucians and other occult groups, who have brainwashed us into accepting them without question, why can’t we accept the contradict the word of God? Look, there is a reason why Julius Caesar burned the African library of Alexandria, and why the British bombed King Fasilides’ library in Gondar, Ethiopia, and why they taught Samuel Ajayi Crowther to delegitimise ancient African wisdoms. And the reason is to deprive Africans of their ancient intellectual sciences, and make us see our culture and ancestors as dark, without any worthy contribution to modern civilisation.Meanwhile, in Scripture, the ancient Israelite kings relied on Black Africans to advise them on good governance, and science. We see this in Jeremiah 38:7-12. I urge my African brothers and sisters to read extensively. Do not read just to accept everything you read hook, line and sinker. Read with your critical thinking cap on. We should not have to go to Cuba, Brazil and other places in the Americas to rediscover ancient African wisdoms. Read, and then travel. Travel is an education for me. This year alone, I have been to 20 countries. Why do I travel? Because there is knowledge out there that can cure my ignorance in certain areas. Some of you have been praying to God to send you destiny helpers. What if your DH is in another country? Travel for fun. Travel for education. Travel to meet people! Travel for inspiration!

Archbishop Samuel Ajayi Crowther

ake no mistake about it, I believe in the God of Scripture. The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. I also believe in Yeshua Hamashiach (AKA Jesus Christ), who is the only begotten Son of God and the only Way to the Father, as John 14:6 teaches. However, I do know that when the Hebrews forgot who the Living God is, it was a Black African man that helped Moses to rediscover Him. That man was the priest of MidianExodus 2:16. That priest gave Moses his daughter, Zipporah, as his wife - Exodus 2:21. And that Zipporah was a Black African - Numbers 12:1. And that Zipporah taught Moses the forgotten Law of God concerning circumcision - Exodus 4:25. From the foregoing, it is clear that while we should worship only the One true God of Scripture, we should also take time to study our own African culture and history, and reject any aspects of it that are repugnant, and contrary to natural justice, and retain all aspects of it that do not clash with Scripture. Look at the West. They have romanticised their European gods, like Thor, Zeus, Jupiter, millions, to watch movies glorifying these beings, yet we pooh-pooh anything relating to African traditional beliefs. In fact, Thor is actually Sango. The coincidences are just too much. Sango had a hammer/ anvil that he used to supernaturally cause thunder and lightning to proceed from the heavens. Is that not what the Nordic Vikings said about Sango? So, how come you and I tolerate Thor in our modern lives and condemn Sango? We do not have to worship Sango. God forbid! But we can teach about him as part of our history. We celebrate unscriptural characters like Father Christmas and Santa Claus, which are in reality just European pagan symbols, and sneer at African masquerades. We must realise that a people who do not know their own history are like a tree without roots. When the storm comes, that tree will be uprooted. And the storm is coming. In fact, it is already here. Scripture, most religious practices of Western Christendom (I am not referring to the pure faith of Christ) were dreamt up and written by those who looked down on Black Africans and enslaved us. It is therefore an act of neocolonialism to accept what they tell you hook, Everything in Scripture is true. Everything outside it is questionable. Echú as they pronounce it, is actually not satan. Cuban and Brazilian Yoruba (the word is pronounced Oruba here in Cuba, with the ‘Y’ silent) left Nigeria before Ajayi Crowther (a god or deity), what in Scripture, is called a fallen angel/demon. But he is not satan himself.Interestingly, Oruba is taught in schools here in Cuba, and Ifa worship (known here as Santeria, although there are other things included, not just Ifa) is very widespread of Santería. Black, White and Latin are all deeply into Santeria here. The issue is that when Samuel Ajayi Crowther was translating the Bible into Yoruba, he could than just leave it as satan, he took one of him into satan. While it is hard to translate satan into Yoruba, because there is no such concept, it. In Brazil, the deity is sometimes known as Exu. It was in Cuba that I was educated to the fact that the place in Lagos called Ojuelegba, from which the deity enters and exits the spiritual realm to enter the physical realm. And we in Nigeria are blissfully unaware of this! (and I know I will annoy a lot of Christians with this truth) more or less a messenger of pantheon of gods, as opposed to Olorun, which The reason is because there are more than

Reno’s Nuggets An antelope is quiet when eating in the Serengeti, because it knows that if it makes noise, lions will notice and kill it. Many of us invite the lions that are killing us into our lives. Small money touched your hand, instead of eating quietly, you made so much noise that attracted lions! Even Scripture says “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.”-1 Peter 5:8. Stop making noise so that you can make news! #RenosNuggets #FreeLeahSharibu

For an organisation struggling to survive in this unprecedented time, how do they balance and manage their focus or goal to remain relevant? McKinsey’s research revealed companies that fared better than others - they called them the ‘Resilients’. They prepared earlier, moved faster, and cut deeper when recessionary signs were emerging. The ‘Resilients’ did three things to create this earnings advantage: one, created flexibility—a safety buffer. Two, cut costs ahead of the curve and three, in countercyclical sectors focused on growth, even if it meant incurring costs. Current circumstances may provide businesses with less options, but they created a playbook to make for such circumstances.

decisions; insights into how to thrive despite the volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous times will be shared by other faculties and I, we will be adopting TEXEM’s tested and proven methodology to pedagogy at the TEXEM, UK’s forthcoming sessions.

agile culture starts with your people: how things are done around here. Global shocks expose outdated modus operandi and poor leadership. Here are five tips that build a culture that can survive and thrive despite the shocks—first, design from the heart and the head. The hardest things can be the softest things. Resilient leaders are genuinely, sincerely empathetic, walking compassionately in the shoes of employees, customers, and their broader ecosystems. Yet resilient leaders must simultaneously take a hard, rational line to protect financial performance from the invariable softness that accompanies such disruptions. Second, put the mission first. Resilient leaders are skilled at triage and able to stabilise their organisations to meet the crisis at hand while finding opportunities amid difficult constraints. Third, aim for speed over elegance. Resilient leaders take decisive action—with courage—based on imperfect information, knowing that expediency is essential. Fourth, own the narrative. Resilient leaders seize the narrative at the outset, being transparent about current realities—including what they don’t know—while also painting a compelling picture of the future that inspires others to persevere. Number five is to embrace the long view. Resilient leaders stay focused on the horizon, anticipating the new business models that are likely to emerge and sparking the innovations that will define tomorrow. Are there other things to learn? To learn more, attend TEXEM, UK’s forthcoming ‘Building Resilience For Sustainable Success In An Age Of Disruption’. Global executives who choose to take these actions can, apart from gaining clear performance advantages for their organisations, resolve much of the they need to focus their energy. Number five: focus on outcomes, not activity. This is widely known as a best practice for increasing engagement and empowering employees. Clearly defining the goals and desired results and then allowing employees to develop a plan of execution enhances creativity and ownership. Oh wait, that’s a good thing, right?! Each of the tips above falls into the category of simple but not easy. They each require time, attention, and consistency. To learn more actionable insights, attend TEXEM, UK’s forthcoming ‘Building Resilience For Sustainable Success In An Age Of Disruption’. With the Russia-Ukraine crisis, how severely can businesses with a large trade tie or dependence on either country be affected? How can they thrive despite the challenges? As businesses look to bounce back after the pandemic, the conflict has dampened its economic prospects. The Russian invasion of Ukraine is adding new troubles to the world’s already stressed supply chains, and this crisis has resulted in rising oil costs and increasing transportation and manufacturing costs, exports, including natural gas, precious metals, and wheat, will negatively impact enterprises across a variety of sectors. This raises the risk of restricted trade and capital flows and could weigh on overall confidence and business conditions. In the longer term, the disagreements between Russia and NATO over security concerns will likely persist. The rising geopolitical risk can lead to broader ramifications. Four areas of focus in unpredictable situations, focus is essential. While each organisation has its own priorities. In the short term, pay attention to these areas: Expand and accelerate scenario planning; evaluate and mitigate operational risks; put effective cost-control measures in place; assess and implement divestment

INTERVIEW perceived conflict between stakeholders’ interests and shareholders’ interests. In fact, the two sets of interests largely converge in the long run. Companies create longterm value for investors only when they satisfy customers, engage and motivate employees, and maintain good relations with communities and regulators across extended time horizons. To challenge your assumptions and glean winning strategies on how to engage stakeholders for symbiotic success, attend TEXEM, UK’s forthcoming ‘Building Resilience For Sustainable Success In An Age Of Disruption’. How best can an organization manage a remote team? Strategic leaders excel in engaging remote teams to do the following: Schedule daily check-ins. This may seem like overkill, but for managers and teams new to remote working, this is key. Over-communicate; beyond the simple daily check-ins, over-communicating is imperative when it comes to the team’s tasks, duties, responsibilities and desired outcomes. It is not just about checking up (business) but, more importantly, checking in (personal) with remote teams. Thirdly, establish rules of engagement. Remote work becomes more efficient and satisfying when managers set expectations for the frequency, means, and ideal timing of communication for their teams. Such as what media for which form of communication. Informal or formal etc. Establish expectations on the best times of day for team members to reach their manager (maybe that’s you) and the manager to reach each team member. And ensure peers are sharing information as Fourthly,needed. manage expectations. This is always an imperative but has become increasingly more important in this current environment. Set clear expectations and request feedback to ensure alignment. Don’t simply assume the team understands where

Excerpts: r of the Association of MBAs accredits Harvard

Why should delegates attend this forthcoming programme on building resilience for sustainable success? Leaders are navigating a tsunami of challenges in a post-Covid world, with the added crisis in Ukraine affecting the global markets. These impose a broad range of interrelated issues that span from keeping their employees and customer safe, shoring-up cash and liquidity, reorienting operations and navigating their market. This programme is designed to help leaders survive and thrive in these turbulent times to best position their businesses to be resilient in the future. It will provide practical tools and conversations that will help leaders do just that. To win, challenge assumptions, network and achieve the success that endures, join Ambassador Charles Crawford (winner of Oscars of Strategic Communication), Prof Paul Griffith (world’s first professor of management to lead a team to launch a rocket) and me at the TEXEM programme on building resilient organisations for sustainable success.

JOHN GlobalCultureCanHowPETERSOrganisationsBuildAgileAgainstShocks

40 THISDAY WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 17, 2022

John Peters, a former prisoner of war and chair of the Association of MBAs (that accredits Harvard, London Business School, IMD and Wharton), shares insights on how leaders can build resilient organisations irrespective of adversity and volatility. In this interview, he also explains why executives should attend TEXEM UK’s forthcoming programme on building resilient organisations for sustainable success. Peters, Ambassador Charles Crawford, and Prof Paul Griffith will help deliver the sessions of the programme slated to hold between August 22 and 25 in Birmingham, UK. A documentary of Peters’ life was nominated for a BAFTA and won the independent documentary of the year.

For an organisation to maintain firm ground in today’s increasingly disruptive and fast-paced dynamic world, they need a resilient culture. How did Amazon and Pixar build and maintain an innovative and resilient culture?

Aresilient

"The second area of focus, also relating to our experience, is defence material needs identification, procurement, and acquisition proce dures and processes. Who has the mandate for defence procurements? We are aware of the controversies following allegations of diversion of funds meant for arms procurement for the North-east operations by the Office of the NSA, during the administration of former President Jonathan.“Asfar as I am aware, the business of the NSA office in defence procurement process is to issue end-user certificates only. Is defence procurement not the exclusive mandate of the Ministry of Defence? Or do the individual services also have the mandate for not only needs identification, but also procurement and acquisition? What are the processes and proce dures in a democratic environment likeTheours?"former army chief said, "Answers to these questions should provide clear guidelines that would streamline aspects of defence procurement for better transparency and accountability. Inadequate oversight, lack of transparency, and poor accountability allow corruption and abuse to thrive, thereby weakening the capabilities of the armed forces. "The misplacements, underutilisa tion, and misuse of civilian security agencies and personnel are issues of interest for security sector reforms. The Nigerian Customs Service, for example, aside the revenue it makes for the government, what informs the positioning of such a strategic border security agency to be under the supervision of Ministry of “Likewise,Finance? why should a public safety agency, the Federal Road Safety Corps, be under the supervision of the Office of the SGF, when it is clearly the mandate of the Ministry of Interior? Or the National Agency for the Control of AIDS, a health security outfit, not under the supervision of Ministry of Health? These are only a few examples."Hestated that with such misplacement of supervision and oversight, "We cannot guarantee effective and efficient performance, neither can we guarantee account ability and Dambazautransparency."saidthepolice were both underutilised and misused, stressing that this situation poses difficulties for efficient law enforce ment.He explained, regarding the Nigeria Police, "With a strength of about 400,000, a significant percentage are deployed for private security for individuals, organisations, and institutions. “The best example for an agency being underutilised is the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), and they could serve same purpose as the US National Guard, thus, creating a force between the military and the"Ifpolice.mypush, as then Minister of Interior, for the establishment of the Agro Rangers unit in the Corps had been funded to take off, most of the attacks on farmers and cattle rustling would have been checkmated, thereby protecting our foodBuni,security."who was the chairman of the occasion, said, "As patriots with the zeal to ensure the unity of Nigeria, there is no election or interest of any single individual that is worth sending Nigeria to war." He said the theme, "2023 Politics, National Security and Nigeria's Stability", was apt in view of the security threats that usually accompanied national elections and the already existing security challenges in the country.

Buni said Nigeria had had many experiences of unfortunate events, under various regimes, from the civil war to ethno-religious conflicts, bloody border clashes, and lately, the Boko Haram insurgency, banditry, kidnapping, and secessionist pres sures.He said these conflicts robbed the country of rich and valuable human and material resources, stressing that Nigeria cannot afford to have any more of such skirmishes. Buni said, "Therefore, for us to succeed, we must, as a deliberate policy, avoid politics of hate, and the promotion of religious and ethnic sentiments that are gradually eating deep into the fabric of our nationhood."Thegovernment, with the col laboration of stakeholders, should create the required awareness among our supporters and the people of Nigeria, generally, to condemn and discourage inciting propaganda for a peaceful and successful election in The2023."governor said the choice of Dambazau as main lecturer on the topic of discussion, was most appropriate, as he was an accomplished and brilliant professional.Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Blueprint Newspa pers Limited, Alhaji Mohammed Idris Malagi, in his remarks, advised the federal government to do more to protect lives and property across theThecountry.Kakaaki Nupe, who com mended all the security agencies in the country, however, called for synergy between the government and the people to tackle insecurity. He stated, "I, therefore, use this opportunity to call on the Federal Government of Nigeria, on whose shoulders rests our national security, to do more to protect lives of citizens from terrorists, bandits and other militias that are rampaging our cities, forests and creeks. Our security challenges must be overcome at all costs. Critically, we must not allow the issue of insecurity to define the debates of 2023.”

The Council members included Permanent Secretary, Office of the Vice President on Political and Economic Affairs, Shehu Ibrahim; Governor Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State and Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF); Chairman, Senate Committee on Health, Senator Yahaya Oloriegbe; Chairman, House Committee on AIDS, TB and Malaria, Hon. Abubakar Dahiru; Ehanire; Nkama and Permanent Secretary, Federal Minister of Health, Mahmuda Mamman.Othersare Chairman, Board of Directors, United Bank for Africa Plc, Tony Elumelu; CEO, Rose of Sharon Group, Folorunso Alakija; CEO, Access Corporation, Herbert Wigwe; Femi Otedola; President, National Council of Women Societies, Hajiya Lami Lau; Emertius Archbishop of Abuja Catholic Archdiocese, John Cardinal Onaiyekan; National Amira, Federation of Muslim Women Nigeria (FOWAN), Alhaja Rafiyat Sanni and NEMC Secretariat/ National Coordinator, National Malaria Elimination Programme (NMEP), Dr Perpetua Uhomoibhi. The revelation came as Dambazau suggested a drastic reform of the entire security sector after the 2023 general election. Relatedly, Yobe State Governor Mai Mala Buni warned that no individual or collective interest was worth plunging the country into war for in order to win the forthcoming election. Buni cautioned against hate speech, saying Nigeria’s interest must be uppermost at all times.

Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello also said those responsible for the country’s security crisis could not be trusted to find a lasting solution to it. Bello said with serious commitment, the security challenges could be successfully tackled within six months. Recounting how Dambazau resisted pressure to overthrow the Jonathan government, Usman said, “One thing Nigerians do not know is that if we are counting champions of democracy in this country, there is no way you will not mention Lt.-Gen. Abdulrahman Bello Dambazau, and I will tell you"Waywhy.back in the days when President Umar Yar'Adua was sick, he was the Chief of Army Staff and I had the privilege of being public relations officer in the office of the army chief. I had the privilege of moving with him. We always moved together and I knew. "Even though he is a prolific writer, he is yet to come out with his memoir and part of that memoir should be an expose of those people that undermined democracy in this country."Iam saying this with every sense of responsibility, because that time the same group of politicians were the ones lobbying him to take over government unconstitutionally. We have the records and when he started writing the memoir, with due respect to him, I told him that he had to mention the names of the individuals so that posterity will remember them for who they are. "Up till now, we are still contend ing with that issue and I know that the international community showed concern, to the extent that they had to meet with him, where he promised that he will not take over"Wegovernment.stilllivewith the flaks, where in some parts of the country, they call us women, because an opportunity came and we did not take advantage of it to take over government. Now, what am I driving at? All these issues that we are talking about lack focus on critical issues, discussing mundane issues; they are threatening the very corporate existence of this nation. “When we visited 44 Reference Hospital, Kaduna, people were asking when is the announcement going to be made about taking over government. I’m so happy Gen. Akinyemi, the GOC 3rd Amoured Division (Jos) is still alive. You can ask“Ahim.simple phone call to him to roll out the tanks and Gen. Dambazau would have been head of state, but he resisted that temptation, simply, because he had the interest of this nation at heart and he knows that democracy is the best form of government for thisRecallcountry."thatDambazau was at the time accused of ordering troops to Airport Road, Abuja, and the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport without Jonathan's authori sation at the death of Yar'Adua. It was also alleged that the then Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Air Chief Marshal Paul Dike (rtd), once restricted Dambazau's movement to his residence as army chief over his suspected "ambitious moves". Dambazau was later replaced while he was in the United States withDeliveringJonathan.alecture on the topic, "2023 Politics: National Security and Nigeria's Stability", at the Blueprint Newspapers event, Dambazau proposed a drastic reform of the security sector post 2023 election.

According to him, "A significant part of security sector reforms is security governance, centred on strengthening the effectiveness of security institutions. One of the areas we need to focus our attention on is emergency response planning and“Nationalcoordination.response to emer gencies must be robust and people-centric, taking advantage of the unique competencies and resources of each entity at all levels. If we had effective and integrated system that responds to national emergencies, the terrorists would not have had the audacity to conduct their Abuja-Kaduna train and Kuje prisons attacks, and even left the scenes without trace after spending hours conducting their operations.

Also speaking, Dangote, in his acceptance speech thanked the Buhari and all members of the Council for entrusting him with the enormous responsibility, pledging to work hard to achieve theHemandate.said:‘‘I must confess that this resonates with my current role as the Nigerian Ambassador for Malaria, my role on the Global End Malaria Council and with the work that my Foundation is doing to mobilise the private sector to support malaria control in Nigeria and Africa at large."

Continued on page 44 FORTY-ONE WEDNESDAY, THISDAY 41 USMAN: HOW DAMBAZAU RESISTED PRESSURE TO TOPPLE JONATHAN BUHARI: ELIMINATING MALARIA BY 2030 WILL SAVE NIGERIA N2TRN IN NEW ZAMFARA LAW, TERRORISTS, INFORMANTS, KIDNAPPERS FACE DEATH PENALTY us have been saying it and they tried to counter what we said. “We have two governments in some of the northern states. Our churches are all over the country. There are places today, where the bandits collect taxes. And you must give the tax if you want your wife to be protected from rape. These areNmadu,realities.”a former secretary of Kaduna chapter of CAN, also said in some communities, people could not go to their farms unless they paid money to the bandits to avoid attack.He stated, “We have two governments and it is an admittance of total failure on the part of government. I was once the secretary of CAN in Kaduna. We have witnessed so much violence, killings and destruction under the Buhari regime. In the last seven

"The success or otherwise of the 2023 elections hugely depends on us, the politicians, the political parties, candidates, and their supporters, and, of course, the political umpire, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC),” the Yobe State governor stated.

He added, "The need for peace to conduct the elections and to have good governance and development cannot be overemphasised. It, therefore, becomes obvious for all of us to make sacrifices and consider national interests above personal interests for a free and peaceful election in 2023.”

concern that the age-long disease had remained a major public health challenge in Nigeria, Buhari cited the World Health Organisation (WHO) report of 2021, that showed that Nigeria alone accounted for 27 per cent of all cases of malaria and 32 per cent of deaths globally. According to him: ‘‘Malaria infection can cause severe disease and complication in pregnant women and lead to high rates of ‘‘Itmiscarriage.isalsoresponsible for a considerable proportion of deaths in infants and young children, with children under five years being the most vulnerable group affected. These are reasons we must not relent in fighting malaria.’’ On his choice of Dangote to chair the Council, Buhari explained that it was in recognition of the track record and passion of Africa’s richest man in supporting initiatives on various health issues such as polio and primary health care system strengthening. He expressed confidence that Dangote would bring his outstanding achievements to help the country achieve its goal of malaria elimination, adding that a group of eminent personalities, who have also made their mark across all walks of life, have been selected to work in the Council. The president added that the membership of the Council reflects government’s commitment to significantly reducing the malaria burden in Nigeria, to a level where it is no longer a public health issue. ‘‘I have been informed that the EMC has already been established in other African countries, in line with the African Union Assembly Declaration for Establishment of EMC's in Africa. ‘‘EMCs have provided leader ship, new funding and innovation to enable these countries stay on track to meet malaria burden reduc tion targets, and I am optimistic that the setting up of the Nigeria End Malaria Council will do the same for Nigeria. ‘‘I must add that with the ad ditional advocacy and funding the Council will bring to the malaria control drive, we can anticipate a reduction in malaria burden that ensures that our children, pregnant women, indeed, all Nigerians are shielded from the disease. ‘‘We must work together to reduce the unnecessary deaths at tributable to malaria and ultimately improve the well-being of citizens. I implore the Council to ensure best practices and innovative strategies in achieving its mandate.’’ Buhari used the forum to thank the Chairman of the African Leaders Malaria Alliance (ALMA), President Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya; the Executive Secretary of ALMA, RBM Partnership in Nigeria for their continuous sup port to the Federal Ministry of Health and the malaria programme, in Heparticular.alsoacknowledged the contributions of the Global Fund, the United States Agency for International Development, the President’s Malaria Initiative, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, WHO, UNICEF, UK Foreign and Commonwealth Development Of fice, other implementing partners, and the private sector. Earlier in their remarks, the Minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire, and the Minister of State for Health, Joseph Nkama, said since 2010, Nigeria had been recording a continuous decline in malaria from 42 per cent in 2010, 27 per cent in 2015 to 23 per cent in 2018. Quoting figures from the 2010 Nigeria Malaria Indicator Survey and the 2018 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey, they attrib uted the decline to the thorough implementation of the National Malaria Strategic Plan (NMSP). Both ministers, however, admit ted that funding gap had impacted the implementation of the malaria programmes in Nigeria, adding that the country needs N1.89 trillion to reduce malaria prevalence and mortality by 2025. Nkama said: ‘‘The biggest challenge confronting us, which prevents the elimination of malaria, to ensure a malaria-free nation in the shortest possible time is inadequate finances to fund the NMSP.‘‘We are currently implement ing NMSP of 2021 to 2025, with the intent to achieve a parasitic prevalence of less than 10 per cent and reduce mortality attributable to malaria to less than 50 deaths per 1000 live births by the year 2025. It will take about N1.89 trillion to implement this plan. ‘‘However, in the first year of its implementation we had an estimated deficit of over N150 billion and in 2022, we already have a deficit of over N170 billion.’’

General Secretary of the Evangelical Church Winning All (ECWA), Rev. Yunusa Nmadu, condemned a recent admission by the Kaduna State governor, Nasir El-Rufai, that terrorists were running a parallel government in his state. Nmadu said the governor’s comment was an “admittance of failure coming a little too late”. But the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt.-Gen. Farouk Yahaya, yesterday, said the Nigerian Army was combat ready to deal with terrorists in the country. Matawalle, in a live broadcast from Gusau, the state capital, said the death penalty for the criminals was contained in the 2022 Prohibition and Punishment for Banditry, Cattle Rustling, Cultism, Kidnapping and Other Incidental Offences Law, he personally signed on June 28, 2022. Under the new law, the governor said anyone found guilty of supporting or aiding banditry, kidnapping, cattle rustling and other related offences in the state would face life imprisonment, 10 or 20 years in jail without an option of fine. The governor stated in the state broadcast, "It becomes necessary for me to address you once more on the issue of security in our dear state. You may recall that following increased banditry attacks in some parts of the state from the month of June 2022, we found it imperative to institute new security measures to combat the situation effectively. "Accordingly, I inaugurated four security-related committees to implement the latest security measures. Similarly, on the 28th of June, I assented to the bill on Prohibition and Punishment for Banditry, Cattle Rustling, Cultism, Kidnapping and Other Incidental Offences, 2022. The law provides a legal instrument for prosecuting banditry-related offenders. "Based on the new law, anyone found guilty of banditry, kidnapping, cattle rustling, cultism, or serving as a bandits' informant is subject to the death penalty. Similarly, anyone found guilty of supporting in any manner the aforementioned offences faces a sentence of life in prison, 20 years in jail, or 10 years in prison, without the option of a fine." He explained that despite efforts by his government to enforce the new security measures in order to tackle insecurity in the state, some unscrupulous elements were bent on thwarting the efforts on the pretext of conducting political activities. Matawalle said the state government was now determined to take necessary steps to stop those he termed unscrupulous elements from achieving their "nefarious objectives".Hestated, "Accordingly, all political activities, including gatherings, and rallies, are hereby banned. Political activities should only commence, when campaigns start officially as outlined on the INEC timetable. Security forces are hereby instructed to deal with anyone found violating the order." He also banned motorcycles from 8pm to 6am in Mareri, Damba, Tsunami, Tsauni, Barakallahu, Samaru, Gada Biyu, and Janyau East following the recent incursion of bandits in some areas on the outskirts of Gusau, the state capital. Meanwhile, according to a release issued yesterday by the media adviser to the president, Femi Adesina, Musa's appointment, which was with immediate effect, would run for an initial term of fivePrioryears.tohis appointment, Musa was Director of the Counter Terrorism Directorate in the Office of National Security Adviser (ONSA) since 2017. He was responsible for the review of the National Counter Terrorism Strategy (NACTEST), and the creation of the Policy Framework and National Action Plan for Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism (PCVE), which Buhari signed into law in 2016 and 2017Additionally,respectively.the retired naval officer served as the Nigerian representative at the Global Counterterrorism Forum (GCTF) since the last three years. The NCTC was established in the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) as the coordinating body for the harmonisation of all counterterrorism and terrorism financing efforts in the country. The NCTC was equally charged with the coordination of counterterrorism policies, strategies, plans and support in the performance of the functions of the National Security Adviser (NSA), as provided in the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act 2022. ECWA Scribe Condemns El-Rufai’s Admission of Parallel Government by TerroristsGeneral Secretary of the Evangelical Church Winning All (ECWA), Rev. Yunusa Nmadu, said Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai’s recent acknowledgment of a parallel terrorists’ government in his state was an “admittance of failure coming a little too late”. Speaking with journalists in Kaduna, Nmadu said the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) in the state and other individuals had been talking about the issue for a long time, but the state government tried to counter them. The ECWA general secretary said, “Governor EL-Rufai is admitting too late in the day. It has been there, CAN has been singing it, some of ‘‘Additionally, the End Malaria Council will provide a platform to advocate for more funding to protect and sustain progress made so far by our country, and put us on a pathway to ending malaria forExpressinggood."

Segun James As motorcycle operators known as Okada continue to be source of security risk in Lagos, traditional rulers, religious leaders, and residents have called on Lagos State Govern ment to consider a total ban on their operation across the state.

NEWS 42 WEDNESDAY, THISDAY

He dismissed as spurious, recent media reports that the governors had collectively advised the president to compulsorily retire civil servants aged 50 and above, noting that, the meeting would be the first to be held collectively by the governors on the nation’s economy in Bello-Barkindo2022.said the governors would launch the Primary Health Care Leadership Challenge Fundand the World Bank SFTAS charter before going into the meeting, expected to commence by 2pm. He added that the governors would receive update on the COVID-19 Action Recovery and Economic Stimulus programme during the meeting.

UBA Launches Innovative Experience Centre in Abuja

"As you can see up till this time, Sahara Energy could not avail themselves. We regard this as a total disregard to the constitutional provisions and the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and a deliberate attempt to subvert the work of this committee by Sahara Energy.“We did not receive any com munication from them informing this committee of their non-appearance today. In line with this and the express mandate given to this committee by the provision of Section 88 and 89 of the constitu tion of Nigeria as amended, this committee hereby summons Sahara Energy to appear before it on 7th September 2022 unfailingly with all the issues they were mandated to provide before the Committee." Udora Orizu in Abuja The House of Representatives special ad-hoc committee investigating petroleum subsidy regime in Nigeria has summoned the Managing Director of Sahara Energy to appear before it unfailingly on September 7, for questioning on issues related to the payment of subsidy from 2013 to date. The Minister of Finance, Zainab Ahmed and Sahara Energy were expected to appear before the lawmakers yesterday. But at the resumed hearing the duo were absent, with no prior communication to the parliament. Addressing journalists, the Chairman of the Committee, Hon. Ibrahim Aliyu, frowned at the lack of respect by government agencies and private companies to theHeparliament.therefore said the company should not fail to appear before the lawmakers on September 7, 2022, with all the issues they were mandated to provide. He said, "The investigative hearing continued today and we were supposed to have in appear ance Sahara Energy Limited. On Tuesday August 9, Sahara Energy appeared before the Committee and they were issues raised concerning their legal status that have to do with their company profile and it was resolved by the committee that Sahara Energy should appear today 16th August to give more clarification on their legal status and other issues as resolved by this committee.

L-R: Head Coach of Nigeria Female Wrestling, Purity Akuh; Commonwealth Gold and World Wrestling Medalist, Odunayo Adekuoroye; Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu; Deputy Governor, Dr. Obafemi Hamzat and Sport Journalist and Analyst, Mr. Godwin Enakhena during Adekuoroye’s courtesy visit to the Governor, at Lagos House, Marina,...yesterday Chuks Okocha in Abuja

The latest call comes on the heels of a series of atrocities allegedly committed by Okada operatives in recent Besides,times.the government said over 7,500 motorcycles had been impounded and crushed since the enforcement of the Okada BanThebegun.concern about their activities was raised by a traditional ruler in Lekki area, Oniru of IruLand, Oba Omogbolahan Lawal, Abisogun II, and residents on the urgent need to avert security breaches in the area and the Stakeholdersstate.made the call for a total ban during a Stakeholders’ fo rum with the theme: theme: ‘Okada Ban: What Next,’ held yesterday at the premises of Lagos Television Service, and organised by the state Ministry of Information and Strategy and Ministry of Transportation, at Ikeja,AccordingLagos. to statistics by Lagos State Government, almost three months after the commencement of the Okada ban enforcement in some parts of the state, crime and accident rates have reduced by 86 percent and 63.7 percent respectively in AddressingLagos. participants, Com missioner for Transportation, Dr. Frederic Oladeinde, explained that a total of 7,500 motorcycles had been impounded and crushed since the enforcement of the Okada Ban began in Lagos in June 2022. According to Oladeinde, “Lago sians may recall that on the 18th May 2022, Mr. Governor made a pronouncement on the total ban of motorcycle operations in six Local Government (LGs) and the respective nine Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs) under them including all major bridges and highways of the State and the subsequent inauguration of the Lagos State Anti-Okada Squad saddled with the responsibility to aid the police and taskforce to implement and enforce total compliance with respect to the law. “The Anti-Okada Squad was deployed to their respective loca tions and commenced operation effectively from the 1st June 2022. The Anti- Okada Squad work in partnership with relevant stakehold ers (that is Police, Media, and unions, among others) whose contributions thus far cannot be over-emphasized. “Today, we are delighted to report our position on the review of the Anti-Okada’s enforcement operation in the last two months. It is important to mention that the operation has recorded significant successes and compliance. “In the affected areas within the period under review, available records show that crime and ac cident rate reduced astronomically by 86% and 63.7% respectively while a total of 7,500 motorcycles were impounded and crushed accordingly. “It is no longer news that there is a rise in the level of insecurity as a result of the rampage of banditry and kidnapping across all states of the Federation. The Federal Government, therefore, is presently considering the total ban of motorcycle operations across the Federation as most of these underground activities are been enhanced with the use of motorcycles.”Earlier,Governor Sanwo-Olu, yesterday, at an emergency meeting with Commissioner of Police, Area Commanders and Divisional Police Officers, DPOs, at the State House, Alausa, Ikeja, announced a total ban on Okada on all highways across six LGAs, and nine, LCDAs, of the Also,State.the Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Gbenga Omotoso explained that at the initial stage of the ban, there was criticism based on sentiments from the“Thosepeople.complaints were based largely on sentiments of those who had not witnessed the havoc some of the Okada riders caused in the areas of health and security. “Residents were being robbed of their belongings by robbers who used motorcycles to flee scenes of crimes; our public hospitals were being filled with victims of Okada accidents (doctors had their hands full at Emergency wards), and hoodlums who rode unregistered motorbikes posed a great threat to the “Afterpublic.seeing the results of the ban in the six local government areas, many Lagosians have been calling on the government to expand the ban; some say it should be Statewide, considering the present anxiety over security. “Mr. Governor has mandated us to have this meeting to discuss what next. “I hereby, assure everyone that Governor Sanwo-Olu is going to take the decision in the best interest of Also,Lagosians”theSpecial Assistant to the Governor on Transportation, Sola Giwa, said, “Is no need for making long speeches again or impressive words, deliberations have been made, consultations have been done and agreements have been reached. The only thing left is for all the parties here to go and walk the talk.”

Subsidy Probe: House Fumes as Sahara EnergyShuns Hearing, Lawmakers Issue 3-week Ultimatum

Stakeholders Call for Total Ban on Motorcycles Operations in Lagos

Africa’s Global Bank, the United Bank for Africa (UBA) has launched a modern and future-forward Experience Centre in Abuja, Nigeria. The new UBA Experience Centre, which was unveiled recently, is situated at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel Abuja, and is a one-stop-shop which would provide guests and visitors with a first-class experi ence of the banks’ offerings across various channels and touchpoints. According to a statement, UBA’s Group Chairman, Mr. Tony Elu melu, inaugurated the Experience centre during the annual Group Chairman’s Forum which was attended by the bank’s executive management team in Abuja. Elumelu explained that as always, the bank has been con sistent in introducing numerous innovative products and services with customer satisfaction in mind. “UBA has invested significantly in cutting edge technology in a bid to boost its overall services to customers and meeting their needs at every touch point. “The UBA Experience Centre is a further demonstration of the bank’s unalloyed commitment to ensuring premium services as well as reaffirming its customer focused culture globally,” Elumelu said. Also speaking, the Group Man aging Director, Mr. Oliver Alawuba said the new experience centre would go a long way towards complementing the bank’s offerings to customers visiting the hotel and beyond. He assured customers that the bank would continue to be the flagship of innovations in the African banking space. The state of the art centre at the iconic flagship hospitality brand has a Holographic Receptionist and self-service kiosk, as it also offers Instant Card Dispensing as well as cash withdrawal and cash deposit services. In addition, the UBA Experience Centre provides lounge and coffee

7,500 motorcycles impounded, crushed since enforcement of Okada Ban

COURTESY VISIT TO MR. GOVERNOR...

station for visitors, interactive screen displays for products and services and other entertainment menus and free WIFI to access UBA services. “UBA is at the forefront of banking innovations and recently celebrated the 4th year anniversary of its awarding winning Chat Banker, LEO. Since its inception in 2018, Leo has extended its services to various platforms from Facebook and WhatsApp where it was first launched, and now to services on Apple Business Chat’ for IOS on iPhone and iPad. LEO will also serve as the holographic receptionist at the UBA Experience Centre,” it added.

The 36 governors of the federation are to meet today in Abuja to discuss issues of economy, insecurity and other challenges confronting the nation.Director, Media and Public Affairs, Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), Mr Abdulrazaque Bello-Barkindo, disclosed this in a statement yesterday in Abuja. He said the state of the economy would dominate the conversation, when the 36 governors meet at the Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa in “WorriedAbuja.by the economic woes that the citizenry has been complaining about and the hardship associated with it, several governors reasoned that it is high time to tell each other the bare truth by confronting each other on the situation and brainstorming on it.“This formed the basis for resort ing to an in-person meeting, whichsince the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic been relegated by the states’ executives. Two things will feature prominently in the conversa tion: the economy and security.”

Governors Meet Todayover Economy, Security

2023:

Minister to address media today after seeing Buhari you can be of some assistance to our effort in the activity of the party at the grassroots, where it mattered most. Leadership at that level is being driven by those who are not educated, they are very vulnerable very, extremely vulnerable."So,weneed to imbibe the cul ture of an enlightened leadership driven by knowledge. We don't have all to be graduates or diploma holders, but an enlightened mind is opened and it is a bit narrow for now. This is missing in our effort to get people to appreciate who we are as a party, what we are doing as a party, how we can be appreciated as a party. "We are having a misfortune of the effort of this government not getting to the grassroots – positive publicity of what this government is doing. All that those who care to talk want to say is about the negative aspect of government.”

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), yesterday, announced the redeployment of some of its directors and two Resident

L-R: AIG Isaac Akinmoyode, Governor Hope Uzodimma, IG of Police, Usman Baba Alkali and Deputy Governor, Prof Placid Njoku at the inauguration of 10 APC, Security Vehicles and other Security Gadgets Donated to the Nigerian people by the Governor at the Government House, Owerri

FG-ASUU Meeting Ends in Deadlock Poly Expels 168 Students for Poor Academic

Kogi

However when THISDAY sought to know the outcome of the meeting from ASUU president, Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke last night, he declined saying that the union will brief it's members before making public their"Weposition.willbrief our members and after that we will let you know our stand", he said. He also confirmed that the meeting was purely between the ASUU team and Briggs led committee and that both the Minister of Education and other top government officials were not involved.

Yuguda, earlier, said what the country needed was good governance, saying if profes sionals are kept aside without being accommodated to hear their views, the country would continue to experience motion without movement. The former Bauchi governor noted that it was important that as the professional arm of APC, they were encouraged to play the role that they were supposed to play. He stated, "There is a need for input from all professionals, because whatever affects the economy, the economy depends on institutions and these institutions habour all sorts of professionals. I believe they know the problems that are connected to their own sectors and if we are able to provide certain information, it will be a very useful data for decision making at the highest level.”

National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Abdullahi Adamu, has described the main opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), as an underdog engaged in propaganda to try to discredit the ruling party. Adamu made the remarks yesterday when a group, APC Professionals, led by former Governor of Bauchi State, Isa Yuguda, paid him a courtesy visit at the national secretariat of the party in Abuja. Lamenting that PDP was engag ing in propaganda to discredit the APC-led federal government, the APC chairman said every elec tion was peculiar, even though the issues might be the same. He noted that members of the group had held very important positions in the country, saying the country would not hesitate to tap from their knowledge to ensure better contributions in the national building effort. According to Adamu, “Whatever it is, if we genuinely want to de velop the manifestos, the experience that you have gathered over time will be very useful and when we call upon you to have a share of your expertise, you will not hesitate to join and give your best.” Adamu regretted that most of the laudable programmes of the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration were not getting to the grassroots, because leadership at that level was driven by those who were not educated. He told the group, "One thing, which I want to make some reference to, is the fact of the position of your forum itself. If you listen to our political activities, one thing you may wish to take a serious look at and see how best PDP is an Underdog Engaging in Propaganda, Says Adamu

Two RECs, Eight Directors compliance with the law and order in and around the campuses of the Polytechnic.Usman,however, commended members of the Board for their sup port, the reassuring that academic excellence would be sustained in the Institution. Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja There were indications that the latest negotiations between the federal government committee headed by Prof. Nimi Briggs and the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) may have ended without an agreement. The meeting which took place at the facilities of the National University Commission (NUC) lasted for about three hours. At the end, both parties dispersed without uttering a word on it's outcome. But reliable sources at the meet ing told THISDAY that the issues were not conclusively resolved as to lead to the suspension of the over six months strike by the universityAccordinglecturers.toone of the sources, issues relating to salary increment, revitalisation fund and approval for ASUU's preferred sal ary payment platform, University Transparency and Accountability Solution (UTAS) formed part of the discussions at the meeting. However, a source within the ASUU team said the Briggs renegotiation committee did not come with any new offer other "than to plead with the lecturers to suspend the ongoing strike, with promises that their concerns will be included in the 2023 budget". He said effort by the committee to reach a mutually acceptable position not succeed, hence the meeting was adjourned to enable ASUU to go back to it's organs for consultations, while the committee is expected to brief the government through the Minister of Education, Alhaji Adamu Adamu. THISDAY sighted a notice to the media from the Media and Publicity unit of the Ministry of Education informing journalists of an impending press conference by the Ministry at the Aso Villa on Thursday.

NEWS WEDNESDAY, THISDAY 43 IMO DONATES SECURITY VEHICLES, GADGETS TO POLICE...

PerformancesINECRedeploys

Ibrahim Oyewale in Lokoja Worried by the poor academic records of some of its students, the Academic Board of Kogi State Polytechnic, Lokoja, has approved the withdrawal of a total of 168 students, exonerated three students accused of examination misconduct and expelled four for theft and otherThisoffences.wasapproved at the Academic Board's meeting held on Thursday 28th July, 2022 at the institution.Inastatement signed by the Head, Public Relations and Protocol Unit, Kogi State Polytechnic, Uredo Omale, a copy of which was made available to newsmen in Lokoja, yesterday, the institution explained that the decision was part of the management resolved to maintain high academic standard of in comity of the Polytechnics in the country.The Academic Board also considered the report of the Central Examination Misconduct Committee and approved the exoneration of three students accused of examina tion"Thismisconduct.waspartof the far-reaching decisions at the 8th Emergency Board meeting held on Thursday, 14th July, 2022 at the Hall 'A' of the main campus. "The three students exonerated are Balogun Afeez Tolani (2019/ ND/BUS/603), John Timothy (2019/ HND/BUS/603) both of the Depart ment of Business Administration and Johnson Lydia Odunayo (2018/ ND/PAD/848) of the Department of Public "Consequently,Administration.the Board directed that the suspended results of the three exonerated students be processed immediately and forwarded for express approval,” the statement said. The Academic Board also approved the expulsion of one Yakubu Gowon Zuleihat (2021/ ND/PAD/346) of the Department of Public Adminstration over a case of theft, while Monday Alfa (2019/ ND/EE/126) and Omodi Ubile (2019/ND/MEC/063) both of School of Engineering, were also expelled for impersonation during examinations.TheChairman of the Academic Board and Rector of the Polytechnic, Dr. Salisu Ogbo Usman, admon ished students to be law-abiding as they resume for the second semester of 2021/2022 Academic Session, promising that no stone would be left unturned in ensuring absolute Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja

Chuks Okocha in Abuja

Electoral Commissioners (RECs), as parts of reorganisation for the 2023 general election. The commission had in March redeployed 385 staff nationwide, and announced on that occasion that the redeployment would be a routine exercise, which would continue from time to time. In a statement by National Com missioner in charge of Information and chairman voter education, Festus Okoye, INEC said the exercise was in line with the extant policy of the commission. Okoye said the commission redeployed two RECs and eight directorate level staff. The statement said the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) for Cross River State, Dr Cyril Omorogbe, was redeployed as REC in Akwa Ibom State. The REC in Edo State, Dr Alalibo Johnson Sinikiem, was redeployed as REC for Cross River State,. It also said Director, Planning and Monitoring Department, Headquarters, Abuja, Engineer Paul Omokore, was redeployed as the Director, ICT, Headquarters, Abuja.Director, ICT, Engineer Chidi Nwafor, was redeployed as Administrative Secretary of the commission for Enugu State, while Chima Duruaku, an Administrative Secretary of Anambra State, was moved as Director, Planning and Monitoring Department, Headquarters, Abuja. Similarly, Jude Okwuanu, the Administrative Secretary in Enugu State was scheduled to assume office as the Administrative Secretary, in Anambra State The statement said Usman Musa Wase, an Acting Director, Human Resource Management, Headquarters, Abuja, had been moved as Acting Administrative Secretary, Nasarawa State, while Salisu Garba, the Director in the Electoral Operations Department, had become Director Procurement, Headquarters, Abuja. Waziri Zanna, an Acting Administrative Secretary, FCT, was redeployed as Acting Director, Human Resource Management, Headquarters, Abuja, while Godwin Wada Ediba, an Acting Administrative Secretary, Nasarawa State, was moved to assume duty as Acting Administrative Secretary, in the OkoyeFCT.said the redeployments and postings would take imme diate effect, while handing and taking over would be concluded on/or before Friday, August 26, 2022.

The Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) yesterday predicted imminent high risk flooding in parts of Kaduna, Borno, Delta and Bayelsa states between now and October, 2022.Italso said above normal rainfall conditions were expected over the northern states such as Sokoto, Zamfara, Katsina, Kano, Jigawa, Yobe, Borno, Bauchi, much of Kebbi and Gombe, as well as northern Kaduna and Adamawa states in the next three months. The Director General, NiMet, Prof. Mansur Matazu, while briefing journalists in Abuja, also said parts of Zamfara, Yobe, Taraba, Borno and Kaduna might experience medium risksMatazufloodinghinted that the situation could lead to flood in such areas if drainages were not properly cleared andFurthermore,managed. the agency’s predic tion showed that south-western states like Lagos, Ogun, Osun, much of Oyo, Ondo, parts of Ekiti, and Edo States may experience normal to above rainfall in the period under review; while normal rainfall condi tions were expected in the central states, most of Kaduna, Adamawa, Edo, Ekiti, Oyo, parts of Bauchi, Gombe and Ondo States. Also, normal to below normal conditions were expected over the south-south and the inland states such as Bayelsa, Rivers, Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Abia, Imo, Anambra, Ebonyi and Enugu states. Matazu also pledged that, "NiMet will continue to observe and monitors rainfall events across the country, forecasting of various rainfall events on different time scales and lead times; provision of early warning products and services (SCP, Impact-Based Forecasting); timely dissemination of vital information and advisory services on weather and climate related events and constructive engagement with all relevant stakeholders for adequate uptake and utilisation of weather, water and climate information." He further advised state and national emergency management agencies to intensify adaptation, mitigation and response mechanisms from now on. Also, states that were expected to experience varying degrees of floods were advised to begin their awareness campaigns through field extension workers for possible response activities especially at the high risk areas.

44 WEDNESDAY, THISDAY NEWS

Prepare for Imminent High-risk Flooding, NiMet Warns Kaduna, Delta, Other States

'Lugard' at Agbura, Yenagoa. “The suspect has been on wanted list of the command for various offences such as: kidnapping, sea piracy and pipeline vandalism." Butswat revealed that upon interrogation the suspect mentioned his cohorts who are residents of Nembe Ogbolomabiri, Nembe Local Government Area of the state. "In a follow up operation on 12 August,2022 operatives of the anti-kidnapping unit in collabo ration with youths working for Labrador Security outfit arrested one Ebiebere Paul, Christian Ay ibatariworio, Owori Clarkson Paul and Beregha Kingsley, aka kalaboy, after a fierce gun battle at their hideout in Nembe Ogbolomabiri and Nembe Creek. "All the suspects have confessed to their involvement in the recent attacked on a Crude oil delivery pipeline at Obama Tekere River and a Trunkline at Etiama, Nembe Local Government Areas.

IN NEW ZAMFARA LAW, TERRORISTS, INFORMANTS, KIDNAPPERS FACE DEATH PENALTY Olusegun Samuel in Yenagoa

Police Arrest, Parades Notorious Pipeline Vandals in Bayelsa

Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Farouk Yahaya, yesterday, said the Nigerian Army was combat-ready to deal with terrorists in any part of the country. Yahaya stated this at a seminar with the theme, “Intensifying warrior ethos and regimentation in the Nigerian Army,“ organised for officers and soldiers of the 8 Division at Lt.-Gen. Tukur Buratai auditorium, Giginya Barack, Sokoto, by the Department of Transformation andRepresentedInnovation.by the General Officer Commanding 8 Division (GOC) and Commander, Operation, Hadarin Daji, Maj.-Gen. Uwem Bassey, Yahaya said the officers and soldiers should employ new tactics and innovation in their fight against terrorists. He admitted that Nigeria was facing huge security challenges, ranging from banditry in the Northwest and North-central, terrorism in the North-east, and militias in the South-east and South-south. He appealed to the officers and soldiers to exhibit a high sense of professionalism and dedication in the conduct of their assignments by adhering strictly to the rules of the task. He said they should channel their energy towards addressing the country's security challenges. He, however, maintained that the troops had made tremendous successes against the enemies of the country, stressing that all the adversaries of Nigeria must be defeated decisively. "Let me tell you, this can be achieved in accordance with our constitutional responsibility as an army,” he said, noting that they should take victorious songs as a charge and work towards chang ing the psyche of the troops by developing a winning posture. Earlier, the Chief of Transformation and Innovation of the Nigerian Army, Maj Gen Ofoche Charles, said the seminar was apt and timely, looking at recent happening in theHecountry.maintained that the seminar was to reinvigorate and reawaken regimentation cultures in the Nigerian Army.

The Bayelsa State Police Command has arrested and paraded five notorious pipelines vandals who allegedly were specialised in breaking and damaging of crude oil pipeline for illegal oil bunkering activities in the Niger Delta region. The suspected vandals were arrested by operatives of the Anti-kidnapping unit of the state command after acting on a credible intelligence.Thespokesman of the command, Asinim Butswat, who spoke when the five suspects were paraded at the command's headquarters, said the arrest was one of the successes recorded by the command in the fight against pipeline vandalism, illegal oil bunkering and economic sabotage in the state. On July 30, 2022, pipeline vandals blew up a Trunkline carrying crude oil from Omoku to Brass Terminal at Etiama, Nembe Local Government Area, Bayelsa State. In a related attacked, on 11 August 2022, same vandals with the aid of an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) blew up a crude oil delivery pipeline at Obama Tekere River. This line also supplies crude oil to Brass Terminal. He said, "Worried by these at tacks, the Commissioner of Police Bayelsa State Command CP Ben Nebolisa Okolo charged the com mand's tactical teams to intensify efforts to arrest the perpetrators. "Consequently, on 6th August 2022, at about 1145 hours, acting on credible intelligence, the operatives of the Anti -kidnapping unit arrested one Kelvin Sutomwa Martin, aka

Chairman/Chief Executive of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa (Retd), (L) presenting a copy of the Agency’s official magazine to HRM the Ona of Abaji, FCT, Alhaji (Dr) Adamu Baba Yunusa, when the former paid a War Against Drug Abuse, WADA, advocacy visit to the Ona’s palace...yesterday years, people are being killed and kidnapped, places of worship are being destroyed almost on a daily basis.”He said criminals became emboldened under the Buhari administration.TheECWAscribe stated, “Over the years, there were crises, violent attacks on churches, it graduated to looking for human beings to kill. As you know, we have graduated from that to terrorism, which is what we are facing now. “This is what we felt will happen as predicted, because with the coming in of President Buhari, the criminals, who were at the fringes, will be emboldened to do more… You cannot divulge this from the statement that he made before he became the president – statements like, his people were being killed when Boko Haram were being decimated by the national forces.” Nmadu, who is also Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW-N), described the recent threat by the National Assembly to impeach Buhari as hypocritical because, according to him, the lawmakers were just waking up to the reality of things because they were now feeling the heat of Heinsecurity.stated, “My problem with Nigerians is that we are highly hypocritical. Let me give you an example. If there is a dangerous pothole on the road, it will not be fixed, except when a notable person has an accident on the spot. Before you knew it, they will fix the pothole. It looks like the life of the common man does not matter in “TheNigeria.senators are just waking up to the reality too late in the day and I think it is because they are now feeling the heat of insecurity. I don't see any seriousness in what they are saying. It has died down...I think they just woke up because it has started affecting them and their“Secondly,relations.because election is near and they want to go back to their constituencies to win election. I think they are doing this to make people feel they are concerned about the common man.” On the Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), the clergyman said those planning same faith tickets either in Kaduna State or at the federal level had failed the exam already. He said, “This is not in the interest of Muslims neither is it in the interest of Christians. I will never support same faith ticket even if it is the Christians, where both faiths have substantial population. Of course, there are states that are predominantly populated by Muslims, you cannot go there and ask for Muslim-Christian ticket, that is “Thereunderstandable.arealsostates that are predominantly Christians, you cannot go there and ask for Christian-Muslim ticket. It is understandable. I don't know how anybody in their political calculation will ever think that they will win election in Nigeria without the Christians or win election in Nigeria without the Muslims or even people without faith. This is our country, we are so divided. In the last seven years, the gap has increased so wide. “It is expected that any government that is coming in 2023 should emphasis unity and how to bring the people together. Same faith ticket by the APC is dead on arrival. It is not in the interest of the unity of our country. I think that those who are even pushing the candidate to do this do not mean well for him … they want him to fail election. They are misleading him so that he can fail and fail very well.”

MOBILISING FOR WAR AGAINST DRUG ABUSE...

Kasim Sumaina in Abuja

Yahaya Assures Army Combat Ready for Terrorists

Nigeria to Host Workshop on Africa’s Deep Seabed Resources Project HELP FOR STREET CHILDREN…

Inspector General (IG) of Police, Usman Alkali Baba, yesterday inaugurated 10 Armoured Personnel Carriers (APC) and other security gadgets donated to the police by Imo State. Baba commended Governor Hope Uzodimma of Imo State for his efforts in ensuring that security operatives are provided with materials needed for the security of lives and property of the citizenry. The IG said no governor in the country has supported the police and other security agencies in the country the way Uzodimma has done despite the economic challenges. He said Imo State presents a unique security challenge and requires a leader like Uzodimma who understands the importance of security to State and national development to manage the situation. Highlighting that security in the 1999 Constitution of Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) is in the exclusive list he said yet, the governor has given practical meaning to the sections of the constitution by demonstrating strong determination to assist Police through the donation and deployment of the security assets to protect Imo people andHeothers.noted that the procurement and launch of the brand new APCs will change the security architecture in the state and make their work easier. He pleaded for the continued assistance of the overnor in the maintenance of the assets for effective and efficient deployment.Babathanked the governor for the donation of the 10 new APCs and promised that they would be put to good use as they would go a long a way in helping the police protect the people of Imo State.

FCTA Environmental Workers Embark on Indefinite Strike over New Salary Structure

Group Demands Disqualification of Bauchi APC Guber Candidate

Chuks Okocha and Adedayo AkinwaleinAbuja Presidential candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and All Progressive Congress (APC), Atiku Abubakar and Asíwájú Bola Tinubu respectively, have congratulated the President-elect of Kenya, Williams Ruto.Ina statement, Atiku said the people of Kenya have done well so far with the election process, stating that the announcement of the results and declaration of a winner was the crunch time. The former vice president said: “Even though a winner has emerged, and indeed, has to emerge in an electoral contest of this nature, the people of Kenya and certainly, its democracy are the greatest Accordingwinners.”tohim,“There can never be any loser if everyone joins hands in working together to improve the well-being of the people. It is imperative that the citizens cutting across all political divides eschew violence and animosity in order to safeguard the gains of the past. “Whatever issues there are about the election can always be resolved within the ambits of the law. As one, Kenyans will be the better for it. I congratulate President-elect William Ruto and acknowledge Raila Odinga for a closely fought contest.”Onhis part, Tinubu in a statement he personally signed yesterday commended the people of Kenya on the peaceful conduct of the elections. He said: “I congratulate Williams Ruto and his UDA party on his election as the next president of Kenya.

EFCC Arraigns Internet Influencer over Alleged N110m Fraud

Omolabake Fasogbon Residents of Okeogun-Museyo community in Ibeju-lekki area of Lagos State have sought for the intervention of Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide SanwoOlu, on the ongoing demolition of buildings in the community. The residents, who staged a peaceful protest at the Lagos State House of Assembly’s Secretariat on Monday, stated that the demolition was been carried out by the New Towns Development Authority (NTDA), adding that over 200 buildings had been marked for demolition.Speaking on behalf of the residents, the Baale of Okeogun-Museyo, Mr. Falilu Sanni, alleged that there was a plot to take over the entire community land by some land grabbers parading as real estate development companies, who were being backed by the government security agencies. Sanni noted the presence of soldiers and officials of NTDA in the community had denied residents of peace and comfort, and almost leading to break down of law and order by youths in the area. He said: “Residents cannot sleep with the two eyes closed because each day we wake up with fear, panic and anxiety. “

Olawale Ajimotokan in Abuja

Nigeria is set to host a workshop on Africa’s Deep Seabed Resources aimed at raising awareness among African states about the importance and opportunities associated with the development of Africa’s continental shelf. The workshop will also increase the participation of African indigenous companies in exploration activities undertaken in the international seabed areas, The event, billed for Abuja in October this year, is being put together by the International Seabed Authority in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Transportation, Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), the National Boundary Commission and other relevant MDAs.Nigeria’s High Commissioner to Jamaica H.E. Dr Maureen Tamuno, would be playing a pivotal role at the Theevent.ground work for the hosting of the event was done during the official visit of the Honourable Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Geoffrey Onyeama, to Jamaica.

L-R: Director, Project Office, Don Bosco Lagos, Father Maximus Okoro; Executive Producer, The Oratory and Don Bosco Youth Delegate Ireland, Rev. Father Cyril Odia; member, The Oratory Organising Committee, Mrs. Yetunde Adebija; Nollywood Actor, Enyinna Nwigwe; Chairman, The Oratory Organising Committee, Gbenga Adebija, and Vice Provincial Salesian, Nigeria/Niger, Rev Father Peter Morba, at the press conference on The Oratory movie in support of the Salesians of Saint John Bosco Child Protection Centre for Street Children in Lagos… yesterday SUNDAY ADIGUN

Michael Olugbode in Abuja

Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja A group, Accountability and Democratic Project (ADEP) has petitioned the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) demanding the disqualification of former Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Abubakar Sadique (rtd) from participating in 2023 Bauchi governorship election. The group in a petition addressed to the Chairman of INEC, Prof. Mahmoud Yakubu and signed by its Executive Director, Ahmad Muhammad alleged that Sadique filed incomplete information and withheld important credentials that should be part and parcel of his EC 9. The group in the petition made available to THISDAY yesterday said it agreed with INEC under the leadership of Yakubu that cleaning up of the country’s electoral process was a sure way of hastening the development of the country through production of right leadership at all levels. It said: “As part of our scrutiny of candidates aspiring for political offices for the February 2023 elections, we are currently going through submissions made by candidates to your commission as required by law. “In the course of this, we have found, with concerns the submission made by the candidate of the APC for the governorship of Bauchi State, Air Marshal Abubakar Sadique Baba (rtd) where he filed in incomplete information and withheld important credentials that should be part and parcel of his EC 9.

Osun LG Election: Don’t Allow Yourself to Be Used, PDP Advises Electoral Body

NSCDC Trains Female Squad onSustainable Safe School Strategies

WEDNESDAY AUGUST 17, 2022 THISDAY 45 NEWS

The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) has declared a state of emergency in schools across the country, even as it conducted training for female squad on sustainable safe school strategies. A statement issued yesterday and signed by the Director, Public Relations of NSCDC, Olusola Odumosu, said in an attempt to proactively protect Nigeria’s educational institutions, the Corps has trained its Specialised Female Squad unit on sustainable measures and strategies to be used in protecting schools nationwide, thereby curtailing securityAccordingthreats.to him, the Commandant-General of the Corps, Dr. Ahmed Audi, while declaring the two day Train-the-Trainer Capacity Building Workshop opened at the Corps national headquarters, Sauka, Abuja, said it has become important to ensure security in theAudi,schools.who was represented by the DCG Crisis and Disaster Management, Nnamdi Nwinyi, noted that the workshop is apt, timely and germane to the implementation of the Safe School Initiative of the federal government.Hestressed that the workshop came at a time the country is contending with security challenges, which necessitate the need for more pragmatic actions to whittle down the menace of insecurity in the country.

Atiku, Tinubu Congratulate President-elect of Kenya, Ruto Wale Igbintade

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission yesterday arraigned an internet influencer, Portia Emilia before a Lagos Special Offences Court, in Ikeja over alleged N110million fraud. The social media influencer was arraigned alongside her company Savanah Crest Investment Limited before the court.The defendants, who were docked before Justice Abike Fadipe are facing a six count charge bordering on conspiracy, obtaining by false pretense and stealing preferred against them byEFCCEFCC.alleged that the offences were committed sometimes in 2018 in Lagos. The commission said that the defendants allegedly conspired amongst themselves and stole the sum of N50 million. The charge reads: “That you Portia Anthony Emilia and Savanah Crest Investment limited with intent to defraud dishonestly stole and converted to your use the sum of N50 million. “With intent to defraud, fraudulently obtained the sum of N20 million from one Racheal Akintola and dishonestly converted to personal use.” “That you Portia Anthony Emilia and Savanah Crest Investment Limited with intent to defraud dishonestly obtained the sum of N20 million from on Wendy Daniel.

Demolition: Ibeju-Lekki Residents Appeal to Sanwo-Olu for Intervention Yinka Kolawole in Osogbo Following the move by the Osun State Independent Electoral Commission (OSIEC) to conduct local government election on October 15, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) yesterday sounded a note of warning to the Commission on the need to retrace its steps. The PDP, however, advised the commission and its officials to avoid being used as tool for illegality.TheOSIEC chairman, Mr. Segun Oladitan, announced on Monday that the local government election would be conduct as scheduled for October 15, 2022. But reacting to the announcement, the State Chairman of PDP Caretaker Committee, Dr. Akindele Adekunle, stated clearly that the party would shun the election because it is in conflict with provisions of the new Electoral Act.Adekunle declared at a press conference that was held yesterday at the PDP’s secretariat, Osogbo, that the planned election is an effort in futility and a delibrate attempt to plunge the state further into financial abjection and misery. He said: “For us in PDP, we have advised them that the OSIEC should not allow itself to be used as a tool for illegality. We as a matter of fact, sent delegation to the commission to tutor and enlighten them on consequences of turning themselves into prisoners of another man’s desperation.

IG Inaugurates 10 Armoured Personnel Carriers to Fight Crime in Imo

Workers of the Abuja Environmental Protection Board (AEPB) have embarked on an indefinite strike over non-implementation of board’s new salary structure. The AEPB is the agency saddled with cleaning the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). The workers vowed never to return to work until their demands were implemented. An Assistant Director of the AEPB, Mr. Udeme Umanah, disclosed yesterday that the workers decided to embark on strike because of the failure of the administration to implement the new salary structures for AEPB after the expiration of several ultimatums.Umanahsaid that it was in consideration of the sensitive and hazardous work schedule of AEPB that the National Salary and Income Wages Commission recommended CONHESS salary structures forHeAEPB.said: “The AEPB is an autonomous agency established under AEPB Acts of 1997. The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) wants AEPB to be a department under the administration. The Act provided that the board employs staff and others can be by secondment. The Director of AEPB is determined by the FCT Minister.

WEDNESDAY AUGUST 17, 2022 THISDAY46 NEWSXTRA

The Chief Judge of Akwa Ibom State, Justice Ekaete Obot, has been dragged to court by the jailed Human Rights Lawyer in the state, Mr. Inibehe Effiong. Thirteen lawyers, including two Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SAN), sued Justice Obot before a Federal High Court in Uyo on behalf of the jailed Effiong. The lawyers are appearing under Falana and Falana’s Chamber of Ikeja, Lagos State. The jailed lawyer, Effiong, (Applicant) is seeking a declaration that after being jailed on July 27, 2022, by the chief judge of the state (Respondent) on contempt of court he is entitled to a copy of the judgment within seven days of the conclusion of the case. He is also seeking a declaration that the refusal of the respondent to make a copy of the judgment available to him since the day of conviction despite repeated application is illegal and unconstitutional. This, he said, violated Section 36 (7) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, as Counselsamended.to the Applicant is also seeking an order directing the respondent to furnish their client with a copy of the judgment delivered on July 27, 2022, forthwith. The lawyers argued that the applicant is entitled to fundamental right of fair hearing guaranteed by Section 36 of thåe Constitution of the Federal Government of Nigeria, 1999 as Effiong’samended.counselinsisted that “the refusal of the respondent to release the judgment despite repeated applications by the applicant has denied the applicant the opportunity to appeal against the judgment. In an affidavit in support of motion, Secretary in the law firm of the Applicant, Miss Aniema Akpan, maintained that “without any reason whatever, the respondent has refused to furnish the applicant with a copy of the judgment. As a result of this, she said that the applicant has not been able to appeal against the judgment before the Court of Appeal.

Niger Republic has denied receiving 10 vehicles allegedly purchased by the President Muhammadu Buhari government for N1.15 billion. Niger Republic’s Minister of Defence, Alkassoum Indatou denied the donation.According to him, only Zamfara State that has come to the aid of the country with five vehicles mainly on account of the repeated efforts of Nigerien forces in safeguarding Nigerian territory from terrorists. Investigative journalist, David Hundeyin had broken the story of how President Buhari approved the purchase of 10 vehicles for Niger Republic.TheMinister of Finance, Zainab Ahmed had admitted the allocation of the funds used for the purchase of the vehicles, saying that it was the president’s prerogative. However, Indatou said that it was only Zamfara State Governor, Bello Matawalle that gave 5 Hilux vans to the regional government of Maradi in Niger Republic. Indatou, who spoke on behalf of the President of Niger Republic in denying the vehicles donation from Nigeria’s presidency, said: “It is only the State of Zamfara which has given five vehicles to the Maradi region, four of which have already been received, it is not the federal government as the Minister of Finance of Nigeria Zainab Ahmed declared,” said a translation of the French statement of a top Nigerien official privy to the issues.

Okon Bassey in Uyo

Niger Republic Denies Receiving10 Vehicles from Nigeria

Yinka Kolawole in Osogbo

A middle-aged man, whose identity is yet to be ascertained, was yesterday electrocuted while trying to steal transformer cables in Osogbo, Osun State capital. The incident occurred at Kolade Estate, along GOF area in Ogooluwa, Osogbo at about 3.47 p.m. A resident of the area, Mr. Olu Adebayo, told THISDAY that the man who was electrocuted was trying to remove some cables from the Raji Kolade 100KV, 11/0.415 transformer.Hesaida close look at the deceased showed that he was one of those scavengers who relied on picking electrical components to sell for survival. Confirming the incident, Senior Communication Officer, IBEDC Osun Region, Mr. Kikelomo Owoeye, said a resident of the area reported the incident at the nearby IBEDC office, Ogo-Oluwa, Osogbo.

NICE TO SEE YOU… Minister of Education, Mallam Adamu Adamu (left), and President, Institute of Chartered Accountant of Nigeria (ICAN), Mallam Tijjani Musa Isa, during a courtesy call on the minister by the ICAN President in Abuja…recently

Utomi Calls for Structural Reform in Nigeria’s Education System

Two SANs, 11 Lawyers Sue A’Ibom ChiefJudge over Jailed Human Rights Lawyer

Segun James Rev. Chris Okotie has assured that contrary to fears expressed in some quarters, restructuring the country would not lead to the disintegration of the country. Okotie, who has been campaigning for the inauguration of an interim government with the main objective of restructuring the country, said in a statement that his concept of Aboriginal Democracy upon which he anchors the restructuring of the federation would address all the prevailing defects in the current system and usher in a new era of political stability for Nigeria. Okotie in the statement, which was signed by his Media Adviser, Mr. Ladi Ayodeji, observed that his quest to lead the interim government being proposed is to ensure that, as an impartial arbiter, he would join other stakeholders to ensure that the future of the country is preserved in an atmosphere of justice, equity, andHefairness.notedthat “the resistance to restructuring in certain quarters is because of fears that such an exercise would disfavour one ethnic group or spark off another civilThewar.”reverend insists that the present presidential system has created a dysfunctional federation, corruption, top-heavy government, agitations, and protests over alleged marginalisation has divided the nation along ethnic and religious lines.

Chris Okotie: Restructuring Won’t Lead to Secession

The Gombe State Executive Council has approved the construction of 17 township roads valued at N8.8 billion. The state Commissioner for Works and Transportation,Abubakar Bappah, who disclosed this to journalists shortly after the council meeting yesterday, said the 17 township road projects would traverse areas like Kagarawal, Pantami/Gabukka, old GRA and Civil Service Commission’s office to Science Secondary School in Gombe to link up with Shongo among other locations in the state capital. He disclosed that the State Executive Council also approved N1.2 billion for emergency repairs of washed-out roads across the state. In another development, the council has lifted the ban on seven out of the 17 private health institutions of learning earlier closed down for reasons bordering on accreditation, physical and instructional considerations. The Chairman of the committee on the review of the sustainability of private health institutions of learning in the state, Zubair Muhammad Umar, said those given the nod to resume academic activities included Fountain College of Health Science and Technology Tunfure; Conformance College of Health Science and Technology Billiri; Garkuwa College of Health Science and Technology Gombe; Lamido College of Hygiene Liji; Ummah College of Health Science and Technology, Dukku; International College of Health Science and Technology; and Haruna Rasheed College of Health Science and Technology Dukku after complying with stipulated medical standards by the regulatory bodies.

Rebecca Ejifoma

Gombe Approves N10bnRoad Construction Projects

NEMA Receives 174 Stranded Nigerians from Libya

SegunAwofadejiinGombe

Police Rescue Four Kidnapped Victims in Kwara

Youths Blamed for Nigeria’s Inter-generational Crisis

The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) yesterday received a batch of 174 stranded Nigerians from Libya.The returnees included 69 female adults, five female children, and 10 female infants were brought back. Others are 75 male adults, 12 male children and three male infants. According to reports, 23 returnees had minor medical cases.They were brought back aboard Al Buraq Air Boeing 737-800 with registration number 5A-DMG. It landed at the Cargo Wing of the Murtala Muhammad International Airport at about 3.35pm. The Director General of NEMA, Alhaji Mustapha Ahmed received the new batch onAhmedarrival. was represented by the Lagos Territorial Office Coordinator, Ibrahim Farinloye. Meanwhile, the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) in collaboration with the European Union has been repatriating thousands of stranded Nigerians from various countries since 2017 through a special Assisted Voluntary Repatriation (AVR) programme. Today’s flight makes it the 12th recorded at the Lagos end of the exercise this year. Altogether, about 2,044 Nigerian returnees from Libya have been assisted back to the country through Murtala Muhammad International Airport, Ikeja.

Transformer Cables Thief Electrocuted in Osun

Olawale Ajimotokan in Abuja Nigerian youths have been blamed for the country’s political crisis and inter-generational disconnect between the political elites and young people in the country.AMotivational Speaker and Public Affairs Analyst, Mr. Shuaibu Idris, made the submission at a panel discussion organised by the Nigerian Emergency Leaders Forum (NELF) as part of activities marking the International Youth DayIdris(IYD).noted that there was intergenerational cohesion between the age groups which enabled youths to be part of government policies.Helamented that most Nigerian youths no longer offer themselves for mentorship because of egoism while the elders are only concerned about making money.Another panel member, Rinsola Abiola, said that the youths are always in a hurry to own flashy cars and quick money without acquiring education. The communication strategist urged youths to present themselves for optimal handsgrooming rather than blame the leaders for the situation in the country.Also the Founder of the Good Governance Initiative, Ms. Maureen Kelechi, said that economic hardship, unemployment and political disconnection have led many Nigerian youths to migrate abroad in search of the Golden Fleece.

Hammed Shittu in Ilorin Five suspected gunmen late last Monday night abducted 10 persons on the Obbo-Ile/Osi road in the Ekiti Local Government Area of Kwara State. Already, the state Police Command, which confirmed the ugly development, said it has rescued four out of the 10 victims.THISDAY checks revealed that the victims were coming from Egbe in Kogi State on a commercial bus with registration No: Abuja KUJ 613 AA, when they were abducted close to midnight by gunmen who reportedly ambushed them. It was gathered that the gunmen were said to have taken over the road with guns and asked all the occupants on the bus to come down with immediate effect. It was further learnt that the gunmen were said to have matched the victims into the bush, and asked them to call their relations for their freedom fromWhencaptivity.contacted on the incident, the state Police Command Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Okasanmi Ajayi, who confirmed the development, said only six persons were kidnapped, adding that: “The intensity of the pressure during the search and rescue efforts led to the abandoning of four of the six abductees,” who he said had been rescued and presently with the police. “Information regarding the kidnap of six occupants of a commercial bus with registration No: Abuja KUJ 613 AA, between Obbo-Ile/Osi road by five armed hoodlums at about 23:15 hours of August 15, 2022, was received today August 16, 2022, at about 07:30hrs.

Funmi Ogundare A Professor of Political Economy and former presidential candidate, Prof. Pat Utomi has called for a structural reform in the country’s education sector. Utomi who made this call at the 2022 Flannel Business School roundtable and awards ceremony with theme: “Book as Agent of Change in a Rapidly Changing World,’ yesterday, expressed concern that Nigeria was laying so much overemphasis on tertiary education, saying that the real emphasis should be on primaryAccordingeducation.tohim, “the primary school level is when young people learn the most and form the basis for their growth. The reading culture will take its roots at the primary school level and if we do that what goes into the tertiary education will be quality. “Right now, if garbage goes into primary level and enters into the tertiary level, what exits is much garbage. “We recognise that primary education is community- based when the parents ensure that only the best goes into their children.”Utomiwho was the guest speaker at the programme, expressed concern that those who make decisions in the country were very distant from the environment, adding that their children do not attend public universities and do not feel the impact of their decisions quite directly.

Femi Solaja with agency report

WEDNESDAYSPORTS Group Sports Editor: Duro Ikhazuagbe Email: duro.ikhazuagbe@thisdaylive.com08111813083SMSONLY

NFF to Host Annual General Assembly in Lagos Tomorrow

High-riding Nigeria will look to make it a perfect group phase campaign at the FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup when they clash with Canada at the Estadio Alajuela Morera Soto in what would be the early hours of Thursday (3am) in Nigeria. Kick-off in Alajuela would be 8pm Costa Rica time on Wednesday.Ridinghigh as the top team of Group C following 1-0 wins over France and Canada has thrown the Falconets into the harshest spot of the klieglights, but Head Coach Chris Danjuma Musa says his girls have their feet firmly on the ground as they confront the North Americans for another three points. “We would like to make it three wins out of three to maintain a great mental state –the winning mentality. If we are used to winning, it would be difficult for any team to bring us“Itdown.would be a mistake to reduce our pace and zest simply because we have qualified for the quarter-finals. The best way to do it, always, is to consider US OPEN

WEDNESDAY, THISDAY 47

The Italian football league has launched an enquiry after Napoli striker, Victor Osimhen, suffered racist abuse from the stands during a Serie A match at Verona onTheMonday.league's disciplinary commission fined Verona 12,000 euros ($12,200) for insulting chants directed at the Napoli supporters. Now, they wish to know exactly which part of the stadium and which section of fans were involved in the racist chants. An AFP reporter at the game heard a section of the home support launch monkey chants at Osimhen, the latest episode of racist chanting at Verona who have a long history of far-right sympathies among their hardcore support. Nigerian forward Osimhen was among the scorers in a thumping 5-2 win for Napoli. Last season Verona were ordered to close a section of their stadium for one match after racist chants from a section of their supporters. Victor Osimhen kicked off his new season with a goal and an assist Novak Djokovic...may not be allowed to feature in US Open due to his unvaccinated status each match as a task that must be accomplished and not slow down. We will still meet tougher teams ahead and the winning mentality is what will sustain us.”Canada, who hosted the tournament eight years ago when Nigeria reached the Final for the second time (losing by the odd goal to Germany), are riding an impossibility wave after losing their first two games to Korea Republic and France, with a disadavantage of four goals. With Nigeria already qualified, the battle for the second spot from Group C is a straight one between Korea Republic and France, who play simultaneously (3am Nigeria time) at the Estadio Nacional in San Jose. Both teams have three points each. For Canada to sneak through, they would have to achieve a high-score win against Nigeria, and hope that either of France or Korea Republic mutilate the other in the capital city. Musa is certain to start with the girls who brought down the stubborn Koreans on Sunday night. Goalkeeper Omini Oyono showed improved composure and ball handling, and the steel and awareness of captain Oluwatosin Demehin, Omowumi Oshobukola, Jumoke Alani and Rofiat Imuran is sustaining the two-time runners-up quite well at the Midfielderback. Esther Onyenezide, scorer of the scorcher that downed the Koreans, and forward Flourish Sabastine who netted the three-point winner against France, are also expected to be in the flow alongside Chioma Olise, Bashirat Amoo, Joy Jerry and the tireless Mercy Idoko. In two weeks' time, the U.S. Open will begin in New York City. Novak Djokovic would be the presumed favorite, because as of now he won’t be there. His unvaccinated status bars him from entering the United States. This is not a column caping for Djokovic to be allowed to play, nor is it a condemnation of him for remaining unvaxxed. We’re all in our corners on this one; nothing said here is going to change anyone’s mind. That conversation is mostly pointless. But whether you agree or disagree with Djokovic’s stance, there is this: he’s remained firm in his conviction no matter the cost, and that cost is potentially monumental — maybe even literally.Djokovic currently sits at 21 major championship victories, one behind Rafael Nadal for most all time amongst men. Because of his vax status, Djokovic already missed the Australian Open earlier this year. He would have been the heavy favorite to win there, but without him, Nadal claimed the title and the lead in the race for most majors won. Assuming nothing changes in the U.S.’s stance on not allowing unvaccinated foreigners into the country, Djokovic will miss another major he’d otherwise be favored to win. The Big Three of Roger Federer (20 major titles), Nadal (22) and Djokovic (21) have won 63 of the last 77 majors, but their domination is coming to an end. Federer, at 41, has pretty much bowed out of the major race, leaving it to Nadal and Djokovic.At36, Nadal has been battling injuries, though even at 75 percent he may still have another French Open title or two left in him. He very well could reach 24 or 25. Djokovic, at 35, has yet to show much sign of slowing, but the fall can happen fast in tennis. Does he have three or four more majors in him — a Hall of Fame career for any tennis player — to potentially keep up with Nadal? This is what’s at stake here for Djokovic — immortality. The winningest men’s player of all-time … or maybe not. This is no small thing, he knows it, and yet he’s stood strong in his conviction. And it must be noted that that conviction is not to be a hero for the unvaxxed, but rather a personal decision based on what he believes is best for him. Some of you will cheer him for it, others will ridicule him, and eventually history (as it always does) will have its say. And if Djokovic is No. 2 on the list, what a wild discussion that will be. -Culled from Yahoo.com

Djokovic: Sticking to Principle at Cost of Immortality?

Falconets Seeking to SustainPerfect Record against Canada

Racist Chants against Osimhen under Probe in Italy

The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) will host its 77th Annual General Assembly in Lagos on Thursday, 18th August 2022. Earlier scheduled also for the City of Lagos on 17th Decemberlast year, the event was put on hold as a result of an ex parteinjunction issued by a Federal High Court in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State following the filing of a suit by some footballThursday’sstakeholders.eventis slated to hold at the Best Western Plus Hotel, Victoria Island and will welcome the Chairmen and Secretaries of the 44 Members of the NFF (Football Associations of all the 36 States and the FCT; the Leagues; Coaches Association; Referees Association and; the Players’ Union); Members of the NFF Executive Committee; invited dignitaries; NFF Management and Staff and; a number of other stakeholders.TheGeneral Assembly will consider a roadmap towards this year’s Elective Congress of the Nigeria Football Federation, as well as such items as may be proposed by the Members or Members of the Executive Committee.

Ogun APC Crisis: Before the Lies Go Viral

“Party supremacy has been replaced with thesupremacy of the president or governor in party affairs.“The trend of emasculation of the party in thisdispensation is in contradistinction with what obtainedin the Second Republic. In terms of the provisionson political parties, there is virtually no differencebetween the 1979 Constitution which was operatedin the Second republic and that of the subsisting 1999.“Yet the supremacy of the party was asserted invarying degrees. The presidential candidate of theUnity Party of Nigeria (UPN) in the 1979 election,Chief Obafemi Awolowo, was also the leader of the party. The party’s constitution stated so clearly. Otherparties, however, made a distinction between thepresidential candidates and the party chairmen. Aclear example of the separation of the structure of theparty from that of the government was demonstratedby the National Party of Nigeria (NPN). The partyformed a government after the 1979 presidentialelection in “accord” with one of the opposition parties,the Nigeria Peoples Party (NPP). President ShehuShagari, as a leader of the NPN, attended the partycaucus meeting in which party chairman Chief AdisaAkinloye presided. Senate President Joseph Wayaswould also be in attendance as well as Senate MajorityLeader Dr. Olusola Saraki among other senior partymembers. The Speaker of the House of Representatives

political forces he could get elected as president orgovernor. After the election, the president or governorbegins to take a grip on the party. The chief executivebrooks no alterative views on how the party shouldbe organised. The president or governor determineswho should be party chairman and when he shouldbe “Theremoved.story is often told how a president made aparty chairman to quit office in an action that wasakin to a political commando attack. After a goodmeal of pounded yam, the party chairman was givena draft letter of resignation to sign . The chairmansigned the letter as directed only for the president todiscover later that it was not properly dated. So theletter was taken back to the hapless party chairmanfor the proper date.“The same political spectacles are so staged at thestate levels where the governors treat the parties asmere political parastatals. Some of the governors assumeabsolute control over the parties.“It is intriguing that a president or a governor couldfail to reckon with the obvious fact that one day hewould be out of office and he might not have thesame control over the party. After all, a president orgovernor who had his party in his pocket 10 or 20years ago might not wield the same influence in theparty today as another man is now in the saddle.

Parties Without Roles?

A s part of his homily, a pastor told hiscongregation recently not vote on thebasis of party loyalty in the next year’spresidential election. He asked his churchmembers to vote for their preferredcandidates. Yet no independent candidate will contestthe elections. All candidates will be contesting on theplatforms of their parties. And no candidate will havehis portrait emblazoned on the ballot paper. Voterswill thumb-print spaces on the ballot paper adjacentto the emblems of political parties of their choiceon the day of election.The pastor spoke as if he was ignorant of the factthat the Nigerian political system is constitutionallydefined as a multi-party democracy. To be charitable tothe pastor, however, he might be conscious of the obviousfact. Perhaps, he only admonished his congregation tofocus on candidates and not parties within the contextof an extremely fluid political landscape.One of the huge deficits of the political process isthat political parties have been cynically marginalised.Powerful politicians have reduced the roles of politicalparties to merely submitting the names of candidatesperiodically to the Independent Electoral Commission.To be sure, the roles of political party includemobilisation within the polity, voter education, defenceof democratic values and the training cadres for politicalleadership. Parties also have the crucial role of policyformulation and articulation. A fortnight ago, the 110-yearold African National Congress (ANC) of South Africaheld a policy conference in which at all strata of thegreat party vigorously debated policy options. Nigerianpolitical parties only hold congresses to elect candidatesor party officials. Hardly are policy conferences heldby the parties. That is why the disagreements withinthe parties are not based on divergent perspectiveson policies on tax, education, health or security. Theacrimony is often on who controls the “party machine”that would make tickets available to aspirants tocontest elections. The PDP is the only political party that has essentiallymaintained its original identity in the last 23 years of thiscivil dispensation without any threat of de-registrationby INEC. A number of parties have been deregisteredby INEC based on the commission’s yardstick whichis somewhat undemocratic. Although the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC)could be said to be relatively younger, it was borneight years ago as a fusion of some older parties. Theother parties are newer; but they are hardly differentin terms of the marginal locations into which politicalparties have been consigned in the polity.The trend identified in the foregoing raises a widerhistorical question of political underdevelopment afflictingthe whole polity.Pundits, who are not attuned to the political economyapproach to the Nigerian condition, often comment alot about the socio-economic underdevelopment of thecountry, but less attention is paid to the developmentof the polity.It is, of course obvious, that there exists an interplayof forces between political development on the onehand and development in the socio-economic realmon the other hand. It takes strong and well-organisedparties to present credible candidates armed withwell-articulated programmes to provide solutions tomyriad socio-economic problems.In an earlier reflection on this subject of the grossdistortion of the multiparty system, the followingobservations were made: “As a result of this politicaldefect and structural deformities, political parties havebeen unable to play their roles as central institutionsof “Indemocracy.theprocess, the political parties are organisationallyailing with the implication that the polity remains stunted.“This decline in the quality of parties has been variouslyexplained. The role of the chief executive officers ofstate who got into power on the party platforms inthe distortion of the party system should be criticallyexamined. As aspirants and later as candidates these chiefexecutive officers of state -president and governors – aremembers of the party, in the first place. In some casesthey are among the senior members of the party. Assoon as they get elected into office, they assume thepowers of the proprietors of the party.“The tendency has been on since 1999.“A president or governor might not have been partof the formation of the party. He might not even haveengaged in partisan politics. With the support of some

AbdulahiAdamuIyorchiaAyu KAYODE KOMOLAFE THE HORIZON kayode.komolafe@thisdaylive.com 0805 500 1974

TRUTH & REASONWednesday, August 17, 2022Price: N250 Printed and Published in Lagos by THISDAY Newspapers Limited. Lagos: 35 Creek Road, Apapa, Lagos. Abuja: Plot 1, Sector Centre B, Jabi Business District, Solomon Lar Way, Jabi North East, Abuja . All Correspondence to POBox 54749, Ikoyi, Lagos. EMAIL: editor@thisdaylive.com, info@thisdaylive.com. TELEPHONE Lagos: 0802 2924721-2, 08022924485. Abuja: Tel: 08155555292, 08155555929 24/7 ADVERTISING HOT LINES: 0811 181 3085 0811 181 3086, 0811 181 3087, 0811 181 3088, 0811 181 3089, 0811 181 3090. ENQUIRIES & BOOKING: adsbooking@thisdaylive.com MISSILE Okorie to APGA Leadership “The eithercallformyarrestisnotonlygratuitous,itisapreposterousdemandthatlacksunderstandingofissuesbeingcanvassedoradeliberateattempttoobfuscatealegitimatecallforajustcause“ ---PioneerChairmanoftheAll ProgressivesGrandAlliance(APGA)ChekwasOkoriedismissingcallsforhisarrestforclaimingtobethepresidentialcandidateofthetroubledparty.

By Senator Tolu Odebiyi S ome of the recent events in the Ogun State chapter of our great party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), appear to have birthed some new age revisionists and offered other willing hands, momentary ‘job for the boys’. It’s nothingunfamiliar; the season is here. From slinging the proverbial mud to both real and perceived enemies, to attempting to launder evidently irreparable images as well as standing truth on its head, the bot and troll army is currently on the loose. But, when summed up, they are few and far between. Even more, the timing is not unusual. The story of the birth of the APC in Ogun State, is not a closet history. Whilst some of the intrigues and high-power theatrics culminating in the final product might be exclusive to a few of the leaders, albeit expectedly, the general formation story is public knowledge and relatable by many a people. Thus, taking off here, how do you write this same story and discountenance the role of a former governor of the state, Senator Ibikunle Amosun and his group, in what the party has become today? Unfortunately, for the fickle-minded, Senator Amosun is not the devil the emergency hirelings are attempting to sculpt in the minds of their unsuspecting followers and has never played God either, even though their failed narratives have tried, effortlessly, to imply so. Let’s dimension the issues, but first, ask yourself: what were those things the fault-finders accused Senator Amosun of, in the lead-up to the 2019 elections, that theincumbent hasn’t done even worse? Or shall we ask: what reconciliatory move or effort has the incumbent undertaken since assuming office almost four years ago to improve the lot of the APC in Ogun State? Rather, he’s always in competition with himself and illusory rivals. But when things got to a head, the national leadership intervened in Ogun and a few other states, where the internal crises seemed to have peaked with threats of implosion and came up with a sharing formula, just so the contending forces were accommodated for peace sake. What did the incumbent do? He declinedthe recommendations – all of them – and further set the party on fire.Isn’t it obvious this was what forced some of our loyal members out of the party to seek placement in other parties that could accommodate their interests?Should Senator Amosun take the blame for the obvious failure of the incumbent, compounded by his arrogant and infantile choices, a disposition evident in his underwhelming performance in the state? Needless to say that Senator Amosun did a lot to stop some of his men from leaving the party, but how was he able to stop them from crying when the incumbent wouldn’t stop flogging them, deliberately to feign a sense of control and as well boast the structurehe does not command? Suffice it to state and for the record, that even when many of our core members considered it expedient to leave the party in the face of the unceasing persecution by the incumbent, they still left for a party that would not undermine the politics and aspiration of the partyat the national level. This is because they had resolved that head or tail, our presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, would be elected Nigeria’s president in 2023 and would work hard enough to see it through. But this resolution cannot be extended to the local politics of Ogun State, which directly affects them, their aspirations and support base.For the record, Senator Amosun nurses no more ambition since he yielded his presidential bid to AsiwajuTinubu. In addition, his decision to leave the senate was personal and he has yet to renege on it. To this end, those concocting lies and imaginary possibilities just so their retainership is secured, can start ponderingother avenues to survive. Conversely, however, while this is not in any way entertaining any form of distraction or dignifying helplessly inane and feeble minds, with questionable character, occasioned by defective upbringing, Ogun State has never been anyone’s inheritance and no one could lay claims to such, even if under an influence. But, indeed, it is our commonwealth – too important and too dear to the people of the state, to be left in the hands of simpletons or plunderers of our common patrimony.Letitbe known, therefore, and for the record, that the battle to save the state is not personal, but in collective interest and for the good of all. But if anyone is too shock-stricken to consider this an avenue for trade-tackling or waiting for a sparring partner in some sort of pig fight, that is not going to happen, andthis, on our honour, shall be our final notes, as far as the contradictions in the Ogun APC are concerned. May God preserve us all beyond the 2023 elections. *Odebiyi is the current senator representing OgunWest Senatorial District at the time was Chief Edwin Ume-Ezeoke. He was a member of the NPP, and so could not be part ofthe NPN caucus. “The caucus under the leadership of the partychairman (and not the president) decided on theparty line to be pursued in the National Assembly andthe executive council alike. The NPN secretariat with stalwarts such as Alhaji Uba Ahmed, Alhaji SuleimanTakuma and others vigorously defended the partyprogrammes of qualitative education, green revolution,mass housing and, of course, national unity, which theparty proclaimed as a programme. A similar structureand method were adopted at the state levels. A statechairman of NPN was certainly more than an errandboy of any governor, unlike what obtains today.“You might disagree ideologically with the NPN,but you could not deny its organisational character.The party was certainly not amorphous.”Today, party discipline is anathema to most politicians.The party system is deliberately made formlessness bypoliticians. Hence, within an electoral cycle, a politiciancould traverse three parties, all in search of party ticketsto contest elections. This trend persists simply because there are noideological boundaries separating parties which arehardly distinguishable from one another in terms ofprogrammes and policies.Politicians are wont to dismiss glibly the call for abetter organisation of political parties as sheer idealism.For them, the real thing is ”winning” on the platformof any party available.Political parties elsewhere which have existed fordecades were not erected on a foundation of this winning formular that is bereft of principle.Unfortunately, while this cynicism reigns supremein the political landscape the polity is not developing.In rethinking the role of political parties as vitalinstitutions liberal democracy, a lot of weight shouldbe accorded to the ideological content of politics. It isthe ideological divide that could define the characterof parties. The common pursuit of certain ideas ongovernance by party leaders and members alike willdetermine the shape of the parties.Nigeria’s aspiration to deepen liberal democracywill not be achieved if political parties are reducedto playing marginal roles.Political parties should be run in such a manner thatthat they could perform central roles in democraticdevelopment.