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CBN Goes Tough, Probes Gaming Companies’ Alleged FX Infraction Approves special account for payments, operation expenses of affected companies Obinna Chima Following its earlier decision to place the accounts of some gaming companies under postno-debit (PND), the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has

extended the probe into the allegation of unauthorised foreign exchange (FX) transfer against the companies and directed all banks to submit to it the domiciliary account statements of some individuals

and organisations.

They included a member of the House of Representatives representing Ona-Ara/Egbeda Federal Constituency, who is the founder of Nairabet, Mr. Akinola Alabi; the Founder

of Premier Lotto (Baba Ijebu), Chief Kesington Adebutu, four other members of the Adebutu family and 11 other bank customers.

The CBN gave the directive in a letter addressed to all

banks dated September 15, 2020, signed on behalf of its Director, Banking Supervision, Mr. Z. Markus, a copy of which was obtained yesterday.

THISDAY had last week reported that the central bank

froze the bank accounts of 38 firms, the gaming companies inclusive.

The other members of the Adebutu family listed included Continued on page 9

NNPC Saves $5.4bn in Court Cases, Wins Africa Arbitration Award... Page 6 Thursday 17 September, 2020 Vol 25. No 9292. Price: N250

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Buhari: We’ll Work Towards Greater Inclusiveness, Participation of Nigerians Says Nigeria most prosperous black nation Omololu Ogunmade in Abuja In a veiled response to the allegation by former President Olusegun Obasanjo; Nobel laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka,

and other notable Nigerians that President Muhammadu Buhari, has mismanaged the country’s diversity, the president yesterday promised to work towards greater

inclusiveness and participation of all Nigerians in the affairs of the country.

Speaking when he unveiled Nigeria's 60th independence anniversary celebration logo

Unveils ‘Nigeria at 60 logo’ in the Council Chambers of the Presidential Villa, Abuja, Buhari argued that Nigeria is the most prosperous black nation.

The president, who

unveiled the logo before the commencement of the virtual Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting, said the unveiling ceremony marked the formal launch of a series of

activities commemorating the diamond jubilee of Nigeria's independence.

He disclosed that Nigerians Continued on page 8

Ize-Iyamu: My SIMPLE Agenda will Transform Edo Promises to diversify economy Obaseki fails to show up at conversation despite written invitation, due processes Emma Okonji, Eromosele Abiodun, Nosa Alekhuogie, Sunday Ehigiator in Lagos, Adedayo Akinwale, Udora Orizu in Abuja and Adibe Emenyonu in Benin The candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the forthcoming gubernatorial election in Edo State, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, yesterday disclosed that his plans for Edo State as encapsulated in his SIMPLE Agenda will transform all sectors of the state’s economy with a

focus on security, health, infrastructure and job creation.

Ize-Iyamu, who is the main challenger to the governor of Edo State and candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Mr. Godwin Obaseki, stated this when he appeared on a special edition of The Morning Show, a breakfast programme on ARISE NEWS Channel, the broadcast arm of THISDAY Newspapers.

The special programme, which was designed as a Continued on page 8

NLC Issues 12-day Ultimatum over Petrol Price, Electricity Tariffs Rise... Pg 5

SIXTY HEARTY CHEERS… L-R: Vice President Yemi Osinbajo; Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mr. Boss Mustapha; and President Muhammadu Buhari during the unveiling of 'Nigeria at 60 logo' in Abuja…yesterday

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

NLC Issues 12-day Ultimatum over Petrol Price, Electricity Tariffs Rise Ngige: TUC's seven-day notice invalid

Omololu Ogunmade and Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has given the federal government September 28 deadline to reverse the recent increases in the price of petrol and electricity tariffs or face nationwide industrial action.

This was part of the decisions reached at yesterday's Central Working Committee (CWC) meeting held in Abuja.

The federal government had approved an increase in the price of petrol and granted the electricity distribution companies the approval to raise electricity tariffs.

At the CWC meeting, NLC vowed to shut down activities in the country if at the end of the September 28 deadline, the federal government fails to utilise the opportunity to address its demands and reverse the price increase.

It resolved to convene its National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting on September 22 to ratify the decision of the CWC on the 14-day strike ultimatum.

The Trade Union Congress (TUC) had on Monday earlier issued a seven-day strike ultimatum, urging the federal government to reverse the increases, describing the government’s action as unwarranted and insensitive.

Addressing journalists yesterday at the end of the CWC meeting in Abuja, NLC President, Mr. Ayuba Wabba, said: "We met to discuss the twin-challenge of the increases in the electricity tariffs and pump price of petroleum products and clearly speaking, we have looked at particularly workers that earn wages.

"So, it was decided that we issue the statutory two weeks’ notice to the federal government to reverse those decisions and in our own case, the NEC also has to sanction it if you want to undertake such actions.

"So, we have summoned the NEC to meet on Tuesday, September 22, for the action that is been proposed for 28th of this month. So, invariably, this is part of the decision of the Central Working Committee consisting

of all Presidents and Secretary Generals of our affiliate unions," he said.

Wabba said the meeting looked at how the price increases have eroded the purchasing power of workers, and importantly, how it has eroded the gains of the N30,000 minimum wage, which many workers have not even earned. “Many people are at pains now,� he said, explaining: "The impact of the electricity tariffs is the fact that those in category 'A,' which they have increased their tariffs are the manufacturers, which will transfer the cost on goods and services. That is why the cost of goods and services are also going up."

Wabba also said that the CWC meeting discussed the outcome of meeting with the government held on Tuesday to find out if there was anything on the table.

"We told them clearly that there was nothing and because of all of these, people thought that certainly, these issues are issues we have to respond to and fundamentally, these are issues that will put many people into poverty, especially the working poor," he said.

Wabba had while stating the position of NLC at the dialogue session with federal government team on Tuesday condemned the recent hike in the cost of fuel and electricity tariffs by the government, saying that it has further aggravated the economic hardship facing Nigerians.

He said that NLC's position is that government should put on hold the implementation of the new price increases on fuel and electricity tariff until it is able to address some of the basic issues bedevilling the power and electricity subsectors.

The NLC president said Nigerian workers who have lost their jobs and means of livelihoods due to COVID-19imposed challenges are being forced to make further sacrifices through an unbearable increase in prices of fuel and electricity tariffs.

Wabba insisted that the Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) should ensure that power sector firms,

especially the distribution companies (Discos) improve on their efficiency.

"Those issues that constitute the price is part of the inefficiency in the system which government hitherto has been paying and christened subsidy. “Government cannot transfer the inefficiency to the people. Nigeria should refine its products."

He added: "At this point, what do you have on the table to cushion the effects on workers, their families because they have been pushed to the wall and already at the edge. Do you have anything for us? “So, that we can now say that despite these challenges, this is what I have for Nigerian workers that they can be able to have something that can cushion this effect for them.

"Already the value of minimum wage had been eroded.

The purchasing power parity, when you compare with all West African countries, we are already on the ground. That is

the reality. In Ghana, compare their minimum wage with our own; in all West Africa countries, including Niger Republic that has just started refining recently, they are now serving us with products. That is not how we ought to be."

Ngige: TUC's Seven-Day Notice Invalid Meanwhile, the Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige, yesterday dismissed the seven-day ultimatum given the federal government by Trade Union Congress (TUC) to reverse the new fuel price or face industrial action as invalid.

Answering a question from State House correspondents after a virtual FEC meeting, Ngige described the ultimatum as misplaced because it was wrongly directed.

He said the ultimatum was addressed to President

Muhammadu Buhari, in contravention of labour laws, which authorise labour bodies to address such an ultimatum to the labour minister. “The TUC issue, the sevenday ultimatum was misplaced because they were writing the president and issuing an ultimatum to him.

"The president is not recognised

by ILO. The competent authority for this nature of dispute in Nigeria resides in the man who oversees them, which is whoever is the Minister of Labour and Employment,� he said Ngige also said FEC yesterday approved a new national policy on occupational safety and health tagged National Policy on Occupational Safety 2020.

He also explained that the policy was a derivative of the provisions of both the 1999 Nigerian Constitution as well as the International Labour Organisation’s (ILO) convention.

He said: “The Federal

Executive Council today (yesterday) approved a new policy on occupational safety and health 2020. This policy is designed to make for the safety and health of workers at workplaces. “It derives from the main grund norm law of the 1999 Constitution as amended, which in Section 17 (3c) prescribes that the Nigerian state shall make laws and bye-laws for the preservation of the health and well-being of workers in the workplaces; men and women at work. “It also derives from the ILO convention 155, which Nigeria has also domesticated. Again, that talks about making the workplace conducive and ensuring the health and wellbeing of workers."

Ngige who said the last time the policy was reviewed was 14 years ago, added that this new 2020 policy would be reviewed every three years.

WHEN MINISTERS CHAT‌ Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed (left), and Minister of Interior, Mr. Rauf Aregbesola, during the Federal Executive Council meeting in Abuja‌yesterday

Osinbajo: FG will Get Justice for Nigerian Traders in Ghana Omololu Ogunmade in Abuja Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo has assured Nigerian traders in Ghana that they would get justice.

Osinbajo, who gave the assurance on Tuesday evening during a meeting with representatives of the Nigerian community in Ghana, said their well-being was the federal government's concern.

A statement issued yesterday by the vice-president's spokesman, Mr. Laolu Akande, said the meeting focused on the challenges facing Nigerians living in Ghana, including the Ghanaian authority's recent decision to shut down Nigerian businesses in the country following their inability to pay the unwarranted $1 million slammed on them.

Akande said Osinbajo while responding to the issues raised by leaders of the Nigerian

community at the meeting, particularly complaints of maltreatment by Ghanaian authorities assured them of the federal government's commitment to deal with the issues thoroughly. “I will certainly convey the depth of your grievances to the president. I am sure that he will be deeply disturbed to hear that despite the assurances that he had received, (from the Ghanaian government) there are still problems and complications," he said.

He said Osinbajo told the meeting that the delay in resolving the issues might have been caused by bureaucratic bottlenecks.

He, however, promised that machinery would henceforth be put in place to resolve the matter. “I look forward to getting the details and making sure that we are able to begin to resolve some of these issues as quickly

as possible. But I think you must also recognise that generally speaking, governments tend to be very slow.

"Processes are slow, bureaucracies are slow, but we will make sure that we do the very best we can to get you your rights so that at least, you are dealt with justly," he added.

Speaking on the efforts made in the past and even recently to resolve the crisis, the Vice President said: “I have followed closely developments here, and many of the incidents that you have described, I am already very familiar with. As a matter of fact, the President had asked that a review of all that had taken place be done.� “There have been direct communications between our President and President Akufo-Addo. Our President has spoken to him about this, he has made a formal complaint to him, and that conversation

has been going on. What the Ghanaian government pledged to do, on three occasions, was that the shops will be reopened.

In fact, I am a bit surprised that it has not taken place because my understanding was that, that was going to be done. “So, I think what we need to do aggressively is to follow-up with the Ghanaian government and to see that these things are done. “I am sure you are familiar with the fact that there was a meeting between the Minister of Trade and Industry of Ghana and a team led by our own Minister of Industry, Trade and Investments in Abuja.

That took place on September 3, while the Hon. Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila was meeting with his counterpart here. “Now, it is very evident from what you have said here that there is so much that had gone

wrong over a long period of time and we really need to address these concerns in as detailed a manner as possible. And what I can say to you is that this is a matter that concerns the government very greatly‌your welfare concerns us greatly.�

He, however, urged all affected traders through their associations and leaders to submit a more detailed letter containing the number of affected shops and other relevant information that would enable the Nigerian government followup effectively their Ghanaian authorities. “Perhaps, it might be important if we have specific details of the shops that need to be reopened, so that we can check and say how many (I think that at some point we had a list of about 160 or so, shops).

So, I think we should have a list of specifics so that even if we are told that something has

been done, we can cross-check and see to it that it has actually taken place.�

The Vice President then urged Nigerians living in Ghana to remain law-abiding and to embrace peaceful coexistence, while adding that both governments would resolve the differences. “I think that is up to us now, to our two governments, and to those of you who live here and Ghanaians who live in Nigeria, to ensure that we are able to bring about peace and to live with each other. Governments have serious roles to protect the lives of citizens especially foreign citizens,� he added.

Osinbajo who was in Ghana to represent Buhari at the ECOWAS summit of the Authority of Heads of States and Governments, said ECOWAS insistence on the restoration of a civil rule in Mali, remained sacrosanct.

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NNPC Saves $5.4bn in Court Cases, Wins Africa Arbitration Award Extends oil swap contracts for six months Ejiofor Alike in Lagos and Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja with agency reports The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) said yesterday that its legal team has saved about $5.4 billion in court cases through the victories it recorded in four court judgments involving the company.

The corporation has also extended the highly soughtafter contracts to exchange its crude oil for imported fuel for additional six months.

A statement by the Corporation’s Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, Dr. Kennie Obateru, said the favourable judgments obtained in the cases also won the national oil company’s litigation team the “Leading Case Counsel Team� of the 2020 Africa Arbitration Awards (AAA).

Obateru noted that the award was given to the NNPC team in recognition of its “stellar performance� at the 8th edition of the East African International Arbitration Conference (EAIC) which held in Nairobi, Kenya, recently, with participants joining in virtually.

NNPC listed the successful arbitration cases showcased by its legal team at the conference as the IPCO (Nigeria) Vs. NNPC's in respect of the dispute over the Bonny export terminal project in which $367.5 million was saved after 13 years of litigation.

It also named the ESSO E&P Nigeria Limited Vs. NNPC in

respect of the dispute over the interpretation of the Production Sharing Contract (PSC) covering Oil Prospecting License (OPL) 209/Oil Mining Lease (OML) 133 in which the enforcement of a $2.7 billion claim was dismissed.

Other recent arbitration cases presented at the conference, the company said, include ESSO & Others Vs. NNPC in respect of alleged breaches in interpretation and implementation of the PSC covering OPL 222/OML 138 with over $380.141 million saved.

Also mentioned by the corporation was the case between the Atlantic Energy Group vs. NPDC in respect of an allegation of wrongful termination of Strategic Alliance Agreements (STA) over eight OMLs resulting in the award of $1.6 billion in favour of NPDC. “At the conference which was aimed at promoting commercial arbitration and showcasing African lawyers and law firms which have performed well in arbitration practice, the NNPC legal team gave a presentation on the challenges and lessons learnt from arbitrations and the successes recorded. “Besides the presentation, the NNPC legal team’s entry for the leading case counsel team category of Africa Arbitration Award was adjudged the best amongst entries from 100 other institutions across Africa resulting in the award,� the corporation said.

It added that the award

was a testimony to the commitment of the legal division and indeed the staff of the corporation to the Transparency, Accountability and Performance Excellence (TAPE) agenda of the Mallam Mele Kyari-led management of the national oil company.

NNPC Extends Oil Swap Contracts for Six Months Meanwhile, the NNPC has extended its oil swap deals, the highly sought-after contracts to exchange crude oil for imported fuel, for another six months.

Reuters reported that the initial one-year contracts (2019/2020) to exchange more than 300,000 barrels per day (bpd) with 15 company pairings were due to expire in October.

It quoted unnamed sources

as saying that the companies renegotiated the price agreement due to changes to fuel prices in Nigeria.

NNPC’s crude swap deals, known as Direct Sale-Direct Purchase Agreements (DSDP), were previously referred to as offshore crude oil processing agreements (OPAs) and crude-for-products exchange arrangements.

The contracts supply a large portion of Nigeria’s petrol, and some of its diesel and jet fuel, as it has not been profitable for private importers to bring in fuel.

The corporation had assured that the 2019/2020 DSDP programme would be executed with utmost transparency and accountability.

Before the six-month extension, the initial contract would last from October 1, 2019 to September 30, 2020.

A total of 15 groupings, with at least 34 companies in total,

were successful.

According to NNPC, the shortlisted companies comprised, BP Oil International Limited/AYM Shafa Limited; Vitol SA/Calson-Hyson; TOTSA, Total Oil Trading SA/Total Nigeria Plc; Gunvor International BV/AY Maikifi Oil and Gas Limited; Trafigura PTE Limited/AA Rano Nigeria Limited; and CEPSA SA/ Oando Plc. The other shortlisted firms are Mocoh SA/Mocoh Nigeria Limited; Litasco SA/Brittania-U Nigeria Limited/Freepoint Commodities; MRS Oil and Gas Company Limited; Sahara Energy Resource Limited, Bono Energy Limited/Eterna Plc/ Arkleen Oil and Gas Limited/ Amazon Energy Resource; Matrix Energy Limited/ Petratlantic Energy Limited/ UTM Offshore Limited/Levene Energy Development Limited; Mercuria Energy Trading SA/ Barbedos Oil and Gas Services

Limited/Rainoil Limited/ Petrogas Energy; Asian Oil and Gas PTE Limited/Eyrie Energy Limited/Masters Energy and Gas Limited/ Casiva Limited; and NNPC’s subsidiary trading arm, Duke Oil Company Incorporated.

Under the deals, the NNPC supplies crude oil to selected local and international oil traders and refineries in exchange for petrol and diesel.

The previous deals were signed in May 2017 to exchange about 330,000 barrels per day (bpd) of crude oil for imported petrol and diesel as part of measures to sustain the supply of petroleum products nationwide.

However, the deals, which expired by the end of July 2018, were extended until the end of 2018.

The state-run oil firm later extended the oil swap deals by another six months to June 2019.

Court to Hear PDP’s Suit Seeking Ize-Iyamu’s Disqualification October 14 Alex Enumah in Abuja Justice Ahmed Mohammed yesterday adjourned to October 14, to commence hearing in the suit filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) seeking the disqualification of the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Pastor Osagie IzeIyamu, from the September 19 governorship election in Edo State.

Justice Mohammed fixed the date following an agreement by parties to hear the suit after the court's vacation period.

The court had last week adjourned to September 16 for the hearing in the application against the suit filed by the APC, challenging the court's jurisdiction being a vacation court to entertain the suit.

When the matter came up yesterday, counsel to the plaintiff, Chief Ken Mozia (SAN), informed the court that the matter for the day was the hearing of the APC's objection to the suit.

He, however, prayed the court to adjourn the hearing till the end of the court's vacation period.

His request was not opposed by lawyers to the respondents.

Counsel to the APC, Mr. Akinlolu Kehinde (SAN), however, drew the court's attention to a motion on notice filed by the third respondent which he would need time to

respond to.

On his, the third respondent's lawyer, Chief Roland Otaru, (SAN), said his application dated September 14 but filed September 15, is praying the court to make one Hilary Otsu, the deponent, to the affidavit supporting the plaintiff's suit available for cross examination.

After listening to counsel in the matter, Justice Mohammed then adjourned to October 14 for the hearing of the substantive suit.

PDP in the suit marked: FHC/ABJ/ CS/69/20, is praying the court for an order disqualifying Ize-Iyamu from contesting in the September 19 governorship poll on account of not being validly nominated by his party, the APC. In the suit filed on July 3, 2020, by its team of lawyers led by Mozia, the plaintiff is claiming that Ize-Iyamu was not a product of a valid primary election hence, should not be allowed to participate in the forthcoming election.

Defendants in the suit are; Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), All Progressives Congress (APC) and Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu.

Although the suit was initially instituted in the Benin Division of the Federal High Court, it was however transferred to the Abuja Division following the annual vacation of the Federal High Court.

THE EDO AMAZONS‌ L-R: Member, Board of Trustees, Peoples Democratic Party, Senator Daisy Danjuma; wife of Edo State Governor, Mrs. Betsy Obaseki; and state Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Prof. Yinka Omorogbe, during a meeting in Benin City... yesterday

Buhari Inherited ‘Terribly’ Divided Country, Presidency Replies Critics Ejiofor Alike The presidency yesterday fired back at critics of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration, insisting that the president inherited a “terribly� divided country.

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo; Nobel laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, and other notable Nigerians had accused Buhari of nepotism, which they claimed had divided the country more than ever before.

But the presidency last night argued that Buhari inherited a “terribly� divided country in 2015.

Speaking on a live television programme, the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, argued that Nigeria had always been divided since 1914.

He dismissed Obasanjo and Soyinka’s allegations, saying there was nothing special about their comments.

The presidential spokesman, who said that not every criticism should give cause for concern, added that in a country of 200 million people, it would be impossible for everyone to agree and perceive things the same way. “Nigeria had always been divided. Always! Right from amalgamation in 1914, Nigeria has always been divided.

Nigeria is an inconvenient amalgamation but we have worked at it and I tell you that there is no time in the history of this country that the country was not divided but then we had kept at it and we were trying to make it work. “As of 2015, when President

Buhari came, Nigeria was terribly, terribly divided; divided along religious lines, divided along ethnic lines; divided along language, divided hopelessly, terribly and that is the division that the President had been working at. But you see that a lot of people instead of letting harmony return to this country, thrive and luxuriate in widening the gulf. They play politics with everything,�

Adesina explained.

He said the government would continue to respect Soyinka but would not accept everything he said.

Adesina said Soyinka had been a government critic for decades and had even criticised Buhari when he was a military head of state in the 1980s.

He said in the 2015

presidential election, Soyinka did not support Buhari but only tagged him as slightly better than Jonathan.

Commenting on Obasanjo’s criticisms, Adesina said the former President was still apparently upset that Buhari won the election despite his opposition to his bid to run for a second term.

He recalled that Obasanjo was critical of every past government, stressing that his latest criticism would not bother the Presidency. “There is no government he has not criticised. The only government he has not criticised is the Olusegun Obasanjo government. So, that kind of person has a right to air his opinion and you also have a right to take it or not to take it,� Adesina said.

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According to him, the responsibility before him at yesterday’s event was to proclaim a theme in commemoration of the anniversary that would strengthen the country's unity, and assist the country in evolving "critical pillars which our 11 month's modest commemoration activities will rest on."

Buhari noted that the 60th year independence of the country ought to be celebrated amid pomp and ceremonies, adding, however, that the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, which had virtually tuned the global community into a recluse, would force Nigeria to have a low key celebration.

However, he said the limitations placed on the country

by COVID-19 notwithstanding, the federal government opted to get Nigerians involved in the choice of selecting the best of the four choices of logos it created through the internet.

He said of the four logos presented, the one the government eventually chose was Nigerians' choice in an apt reflection of the theme of the anniversary.

He said the selection option accorded Nigerians was meant to denote Nigeria's sense of togetherness, despite its huge population of over 200 million people, describing Nigeria as a nation blessed with "natural talents, grits and passion glitter like the precious diamond."

He also described his current government's move as enough appreciation for both the country's assets and its people, saying Nigerians live everywhere and shine like diamonds.

He said: "The task history has saddled me with today is to proclaim a theme that will keep us united, help us forge ahead and unveil a logo that will form the critical pillars, which the eleven months' modest commemoration activities will rest on.

"Celebrating 60 years of independence really calls for pomp and pageantry, but the global COVID-19 pandemic, which has forced all nations in the world to think and act differently, has also forced on us the imperative of a low-keyed celebration.

"Operating within the limitations placed by the COVID-19 pandemic, we created an internet challenge for

Nigerians to make a choice from a set of four pre-selected logos that will appropriately define the theme.

"Of these four options, Nigerians from all walks of life participated in making a choice and I'm happy to let you know that the logo I will be unveiling is a product of choice from the Nigerian people.

"I'm informed that the selected option depicts our togetherness; a country of over 200 million people, whose natural talents, grits and passion glitter like the precious diamond we are.

"This to me, is a sufficient appreciation to our most precious assets; our people. Everywhere you go, Nigerians are sparkling like diamonds in the pack, whether in academia, business, innovation, music, movie, entertainment and culture."

Buhari said the neatly encrusted diamond on the Nigerian map symbolises its age of treasure, the worth of the Nigerian people, who sparkle to the admiration of the world.

"In the same vein, the fair green and the dark green colour should respectively remind us of our warmth, welcoming spirit and love, as well as the

abundant wealth inherent in our human capital and the richness of our land,� he said, adding: "All these properties made us, unarguably, the most prosperous black nation in the world and Africa's largest economy. It is, therefore, with a deep feeling of national pride that I hereby announce to you that ‘Together shall we be’ shall be the theme of our nation's 60th anniversary celebration.�

The president stated: "Our founding fathers, in spite of differences in faith, tribe and tongue, came together to fight for Nigeria's independence. This shall be a befitting tribute to the struggle of our heroes past.

"It is to the glory of God and in celebration of the attainment of the diamond age of 60 by our great nation that I hereby unveil the preferred anniversary logo for this momentous occasion in our national history.

"At this juncture, let me thank members of the inter-ministerial committee on Nigeria's 60th anniversary celebration for the work they have done so far and remind them that this is just the beginning.

"As we celebrate this anniversary, this government will work towards greater

inclusiveness and look forward to the participation of all Nigerians."

Also speaking at the event, Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mr. Boss Mustapha, who is also the Chairman of the InterMinisterial Committee of Nigeria at 60, said unveiling the logo yesterday, marked the official commencement of the diamond jubilee.

He said: “Your Excellency, Mr. President, upon your approval of the inter-ministerial committee on Nigeria's 60th anniversary and the directive for a low-key celebration that will be highly inclusive, the inter-ministerial committee went to work and agreed on the theme to drive the celebrations. “One major agreement also was the need to deviate from the norm of celebrating our landmark events with a conclusion of the day of such an event. Thus, it was agreed that to make the diamond anniversary very inclusive and create opportunities for internalisation and buying by all sectors of Nigerian people, a year-long celebration will be pursued, starting from the date of launching a web portal, to

September 30th, 2021. “I am happy to inform you today that the unveiling of the logo is the second milestone of the celebration, but it actually marks the official take-off of Nigeria's 60th anniversary celebration.

Kindly permit me to provide a little background as to the theme, processes for selection of logo, eventual outcome and outstanding elements, as well as the rationale for a year-long celebration. “The inter-ministerial committee had a robust discussion and argument on the theme and finally settled on the one that recognises our sojourn in nationhood, identified challenges faced all through and what is required to move Nigeria to its enviable stage among the comity of nations. “To arrive at a logo, the interministerial committee had to review 15 different possibilities designed by a patriotic group of Nigerian firms, to whom we have expressed our appreciation for their efforts. "Out of these 15 logos, the inter-ministerial committee chose the best four that were then subjected to a diamond."

He said: “In terms of immediate implementation, it depends on what we have in the coffers of the state. If our state is not in the red, then there are so many things we can jumpstart and begin to do.

If, however, we find out that our state is in the red, there is nothing wrong with accessing the capital market to see how we can get some short-term facility to be able to kick-start what we want to do. “But we sincerely believe that by the time we begin to implement our programmes, the structures of our state will change. By the time people see our sincerity, our focus and priorities, we also believe that so many donor agencies and so many people would be willing to come to our aid and to assist our state. “So, we are not too much afraid about how we want to implement our project, we just want to win first, get in, and then you would see a serious implementation of the agenda we have set for ourselves.�

Ize-Iyamu, who decried the high level of unemployment in Edo State said the state government could have done much more to reverse the situation if appropriate plans were put in place. “I believe the current statistics are worse. The statistics you have right now are based on the data that was received, and mainly from the Edo State government. But I have told people in another forum that most of those statistics are wrong. The bogus claims that 151,000 jobs have been created are not true. The unemployment

rate is a lot higher. “To be able to reverse the trend, we believe that with the SIMPLE agenda, a lot of things would change. “For example, by the time we make our state more secured, a lot of businesses are going to come, the existing ones are going to expand and increase their scope, and that would help a lot in creating more jobs,� he said.

On the high level of insecurity in Edo State, he said the high rate of unemployment in the state was responsible, promising that he will reverse the trend by engaging the unemployed youths.

According to Ize-Iyamu, “This government has wasted so many resources in Edo State.

For instance, the farm projects that the present government embarked upon, actually flopped and it was a complete waste of resources of Edo State people.

The farm projects were not well thought out and they did not bring in the right professionals to handle it. In one of the farm projects, the government wasted close to N2 billion on that project because it failed. The rice project in Aghenegbode, where the government claimed it invested over N5 billion, also was a big failure and a complete waste of resources. Those projects failed because the government refused to consult the required experts to handle the projects. If voted into power, I will consult with the right professionals and ensure that projects are successfully implemented in the state.�

He said a lot of businesses are going to come, and the existing ones are going to expand and increase in scope, which would help a lot in creating more jobs. “The security aspect of our SIMPLE Agenda is also intended to get many of our young ones employed. We intend to do community policing whereby we identify the local vigilante group all over the state, organise them and make them more functional and ensure that on a monthly basis, we pay them some stipend for keeping our state safe and complementing the police,� he added.

In the area of agriculture, Ize-Iyamu said Edo State government should be able to invest in agriculture in the areas such as rubber, cocoa and cassava, explaining that when he was secretary to the government of the state, the government deliberately

established a Cassava Factory at Uromi with support from Brazil.

He also spoke on the state’s capacity for generating internal revenue, saying statistics showed that the state had not been doing very well in IGR in the past three years of the Obaseki administration. “The statistics on IGR in the state for the past three years shows slow growth in IGR because the government is not generating enough money; rather, it has relied so much on federal government allocation and taxes from within the state.

A serious government should be able to think outside of the box to attract foreign investments that will drive IGR,� he said, pledging: “If voted into power, what I will do is to diversify the Edo economy and ensure that the economy is stronger with short term return on investments. I will increase the IGR of the state and increase employment for our youths. We will stimulate the economy of Edo State through public-private partnerships that will further raise the IGR of the state.�

On insecurity and poor infrastructural development in the state, Ize-Iyamu said: “My SIMPLE Agenda will bring about investments in security and infrastructure. In the area of security, we intend to use technology to deal with crimes in the state.

IZE-IYAMU: MY SIMPLE AGENDA WILL TRANSFORM EDO series of dialogue among the 14 competing candidates, by ARISE NEWS Channel with the support of EiE, a group of individuals and organisations committed to institute a culture of good governance and public accountability in Nigeria through active citizenship, was scheduled to feature Obaseki and Ize-Iyamu yesterday.

But the Edo State governor refused to show up despite a written invitation and assurances from him that he would participate in the dialogue.

However, a statement by the state Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Mr. Chris Nehikhare, said Obaseki boycotted the conversation because he learnt at the last minute that it was going to be a debate. “Governor Obaseki was preparing to depart for the venue of the programme early this morning when information came that the event was no longer a conversation but a debate,� he claimed, adding: “The banner headline on the invitation card to the event reads, Edo Governorship: The Conversation. This information is available online and can be verified. How a conversation turned to a debate is a question only organisers of the eve can explain.�

But from the invitation letter dated September 9, 2020, and signed by ARISE NEWS Managing Director, Ms. Ijeoma Nwogwugwu, (see a copy on page 8) the party chieftain’s explanation for his candidate’s no show would appear to be an afterthought as it was made very clear that the engagement would be a dialogue between Obaseki and Ize-Iyamu.

The letter read in part: “There are 14 candidates in the Edo governorship election and we are inviting all candidates to participate in the dialogues.

You will be hosted with the APC candidate, Mr. Osagie IzeIyamu, while the other twelve candidates will be split into two groups of six candidates each in separate sessions. “The dialogue would be for two hours during The Morning Show, our flagship programme with the highest number of viewers nationwide and The Diaspora. It will focus on topics: (1) education, (2) healthcare, (3) job creation, and (4) the economy.�

Not only did the governor during private conversations with the station’s managing

director agree to participate in the dialogue, he also paid for advertisements, which were aired throughout the programme.

In a press statement from the Chairman of Edo APC Media Campaign Council, Mr. John Mayaki, while reacting to the governor’s refusal to attend the conversation said, “the governor's cowardice is legendary, shameless, and unbecoming of someone who hopes to lead the fearless people of Edo State. This is the third time that Obaseki will flee from a debate. What is he running away from? From accountability and transparency?

This tells you that the Channels TV Interview was arranged.

It is sad that someone that campaigned on accountability and said Edo would be the envy of the western world in terms of transparency is now running away from giving account of what he has done and what he hopes to do�.

The APC spokesman disclosed that Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu was always ready to serve no matter the obstacles, without giving excuses.

He said, "This tells you that we are ready to serve. You saw how the governor planted his people in the studio for channels television and they yelled thuggishly, making such a fracas with the sole aim of turning a debate into a campaign rally. It was an elaborate setup by the governor Obaseki-led government to hoodwink the nation and the people of Edo State, but those in the state know what is going on."

He added that although Obaseki had paid for adverts on Arise TV "just the same way he paid for adverts on Channels Television," it meant nothing to the governor to run away from the debate after wasting Edo people's money on advertisements’.

He disclosed that, "With this dodgy attitude of Obaseki, Edo people cannot have confidence in him. He has consistently failed promises made to workers, traders and farmers in Edo

State. Now, he has taken his unreliability to the media three times and the one time he appeared in the media, he knows how much he spent to present a good image. No one trusts him�.

He therefore urged Edo people, “ to come out en masse and vote out tyranny, cowardice, oppression and dishonesty�. IzeIyamu during the conversation accused Obaseki of financial recklessness in managing state resources.

According to him, “I have a comprehensive document on how I believe we can reverse the fortune of our state, and make it better. I believe sincerely that without good security, we would not be able to position our state in where we want it to be. Investors will not come, Tourists will not come, even our own indigenes abroad would be reluctant to come back home if we continue to suffer the level of insecurity that we have. “In the same way, without serious infrastructure, it is going to be very difficult to attract any serious industry or business to our state. Our people too must be trained and retrained so they can have the necessary skills to compete at any level.

So, the agenda has been well thought out, and in terms of implementation, of course, we would be looking at funds. The state is blessed, I just believe that our money has not been prudently utilised in the past.�

If elected, he said, he intends to set up an economic management team that would ensure that the monies of the state are well utilised.

Continued on page 9

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NGN NGN 0.10 1.14 0.45 6.50 0.35 5.35 0.10 2.35 0.01 0.26 NGN 0.03 0.27 0.22 2.03 0.65 7.10 ABCTRANS 0.03 0.33 NEIMETH 0.15 1.80 HPE Nestle Nig Plc â‚Ś1,175.00 Volume: 211.816 million shares Value: N2.418 billion Deals: 3,651 As at yesterday 17/9/2020 See details on Page 37

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NEWS

FEC Approves Bill for Creation of Crime Proceeds’ Recovery Agency Proposed amendment of rules of legal practice under scrutiny, says AGF Omololu Ogunmade in Abuja The federal government yesterday approved a new bill, Proceeds of Crime Recovery and Management Agency Bill, for onward transmission to the National Assembly.

Briefing reporters after the virtual Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting in the State House, Abuja, the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Malam Abubakar Malami (SAN), said the bill, which was first conceived in 2007, was rejected several times by FEC of successive administrations, including the current cabinet before it was eventually approved yesterday.

Also, responding to a question on his decision to unilaterally amend the code

of legal professional practice, Malami said the matter is currently under scrutiny and declined comment on the matter.

He said the objective of the bill is to secure a legal and institutional framework that will assist in harnessing proceeds of crimes that are currently scattered across several government agencies and bring them into one agency.

According to Malami, the pursuit of a legal framework for recovered assets have become a necessity because there is hitherto no agency of government saddled with the responsibility of providing data on landed assets, immobile assets as well as the value of cash recovered by government agencies.

He said: “It is in essence, a bill that is targeted and intended to have in place a legal and institutional framework.

"The legal component of it is having a law, and the institutional component of it is to have an agency that will be saddled with the responsibility of managing the assets that constitute the proceeds of crime in Nigeria. “What happens before now is that the proceeds of crime are scattered all over, and mostly in the hands of different and multiple agencies of government inclusive of the police, the DSS, EFCC, and ICPC. “So, with that kind of arrangement which is ad hoc, there is no agency of government that is saddled

with the responsibility of data generation, an agency that can give you off-hand the number of landed assets, the number of immovable assets, the amount in cash that is recovered by the federal government by way of interim forfeiture, overweight of a final forfeiture.

"So, it is indeed over time a kind of an arrangement that is not uniform and consistent."

Malami explained that when the bill becomes law, it will move the fight against corruption to the next level because all recoveries made by different agencies of government will be in the custody of a single agency.

He also said the agency would be responsible for provision of data on necessary issues, including budget items for recovered assets

and consequently guarantee transparency. “So, if you have a budget item for recovered assets, this agency will now be in a position to provide information to the Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning on demand as to what amount is there available for budget purposes, thereby establishing the desired transparency, the desired accountability which has not been available before now. “So, it is about a memo that seeks to establish a legal framework, that seeks to establish an institutional framework, that seeks to further take the fight against corruption to the next level by way of establishing transparency, accountability

and making the possibility of forfeiture, a proceed of crime easy through the sanctioning of non-conviction based forfeiture among others,� he added.

Responding to a question on his decision to unilaterally amend the code of legal professional practice, Malami said the matter is currently under scrutiny and hence, declined comment on the matter.

"The first question has to do with rules of professional conduct with particular reference to a gazette in contention. My response is simple, that the matter is being interrogated and I will make statement at the appropriate time and say no more as far as that issue is concerned," he said.

15,000 Persons Sign Petition Asking EU, UK to Bar El-Rufai Segun James No fewer than 15,000 people were said to have signed a petition requesting the United Kingdom and European Union to place a travel ban on the Governor of Kaduna state, Nasir ElRufai, as at last night.

The United States Government had placed a visa restriction on some unnamed Nigerians involved in electoral malpractices, while at least 15,000 people have signed a petition calling on the United Kingdom and the European Union to bar el-Rufai The petition, which

was initiated by a former Presidential aide, Mr. Reno Omokri, on Tuesday, was addressed to the UK Parliament; the UK Prime Minister, Boris Johnson; Council of the European Union and the European Parliament.

The petition was initiated on Change.Org. Omokri, who initiated the petition, accused el-Rufai of being a threat to the peace and security of Nigeria for many reasons.

He noted that on December 3, 2016, the governor admitted that he paid herdsmen who had been accused of killing

several persons. “Since that admission, there has been an intense escalation of the killings of mostly Christians in Kaduna, and on August 25, 2020, suspected herdsmen abducted seven schoolchildren and their teacher from Prince Academy, in Kaduna. They have not been seen or heard of since then,� Omokri said.

Omokri, who was a social media aide to former President Goodluck Jonathan, said el-Rufai on January 27, 2013, insulted Jesus Christ on Twitter The petition further read, “On February 6, 2019, he

threatened foreign observers, including observers from the EU and UK with death, warning that they would return in body bags should they intervene in Nigeria. “On July 15, 2012, Nasir El-Rufai said, and I quote ‘We will write this for all to read. Anyone, soldier or not that kills the Fulani takes a loan repayable one day no matter how long it takes.’ This threat has been carried out in Southern Kaduna where there is an ongoing genocide of Christians under el-Rufai’s watch.�

Omokri said on August 23, 2019, the governor charged the Anglican Bishop of

Zaria province of Kaduna, Abiodun Ogunyemi, for defamation. “On April 24, 2019, another of his sons, Bashir el-Rufai, described the pogrom against Igbos as sweet. “It is for this reason that Nigerian citizens call on the government of the United Kingdom and the European Union Presidency to follow the lead of the United States and place a visa ban on Nasir El-Rufai, who is scheming to become Nigeria’s President, to prevent a Rwandan style genocide in Nigeria,� he said.

The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) had last month invited el-Rufai to speak at its Annual General Conference but the association later withdrew the invitation amid several petitions.

The governor has been accused of mismanaging the diversity of Kaduna State which has led to the killings of hundreds of persons mostly in Southern Kaduna.

He was also accused of human rights abuse including ensuring the prolonged and illegal detention of government critics.

companies for payment of winnings, salaries and other overhead expenses.�

It further added: “However, please note that the post-nodebit restriction on the accounts of the companies is still in place, subject to the identified exceptions. Accordingly, no other transaction should be processed for any of the companies during the period of this waiver. “You are to open a subsidiary account from where payment of winnings, salaries and other restricted operational expenses such as the purchase of diesel (other overhead expenses) will be passed into weekly. “The debit on the subsidiary account will be vetted by the Central Bank of Nigeria and swept into the main account after approval from the CBN. “Finally, you are required to forward a weekly report

for the CBN approval of the clearance of the debit in the subsidiary account. Please be guided accordingly.�

A top central bank official had described the activities of the companies as economic sabotage, money laundering and insider trading. “CBN is going to punish these companies and individuals to serve as a deterrent to others. “Those of them involved in the gaming business, their business is in naira. Some of them would say they are paying for technical services.

Assuming they even have the approval to take money out, why are they not in the official market? Why go to the black market? That means there is something illegal they are doing without documentation. “We are accusing them, especially the gaming companies, of money

laundering, illegal transfer of forex out of Nigeria. Most of them open accounts in Mauritius and other safe havens for them to move monies out of Nigeria and then do whatever they like. “Now, they would say they are paying for technical services. Were those fees authorised officially by the CBN? The sole institution responsible for forex dealing in Nigeria is the CBN. Did they obtain the CBN’s approval? “They don’t even have the National Office for Technology Acquisition and Promotion (NOTAP) approval, even if they say it is for software purchase, as some of them claimed. Indeed, one of them that went to NOTAP, the approval wasn’t granted because the so-called software they claimed they wanted to import can be manufactured locally,� the source had said.

educational services. We intend to resuscitate the Benin Technical College, which has been abandoned by the present government. If that college was resuscitated by the present government, it would have been a centre for manpower development in the state, where technical skills will be developed for

the state.�

According to the APC governorship aspirant: “When I become governor of Edo State, I will build a disease control centre in the state, well equipped with the latest medical tools and medical professionals. We will provide healthcare centres in all local government areas.

Hospitals, where serious health issues are addressed, are the responsibility of state government, and that should be an area of priority for us if voted into power. “We have 34 government hospitals in Edo State, but they are all in a deplorable state, which we plan to renovate and rebuild.�

CBN GOES TOUGH, PROBES GAMING COMPANIES’ ALLEGED FX INFRACTION Chief Adebisi Adebutu, Mr. Ajibola Adebutu, Mr. Olanipekun Adebutu and Mr. Olusegun Adebutu.

Included on the list are, Mr. Mauro Ripamonti, Mr. Charbel Chidiac; Mr. Oludamilare Alabi, Mr. Oluwafemi Babalola, Mr. Adetayo Adesanwo and Mr. Byron Powell.

The central bank in the letter to the banks stated: “You are required to furnish us with the domiciliary account statements (Excel and PDF formats) of the under listed individuals, including the domiciliary accounts linked to them by Bank Verification Number (BVN). The statements should cover the period January 1, 2013, to July 31, 2020.�

It further requested that the banks should ensure that their response on its enquiries to be sent to designated emails in the letter is received before Wednesday, September 16,

2020.

In a related development, the central bank in a separate letter addressed to one of the banks’ Chief Executive Officers, dated September 14, 2020, that was jointly signed by the Director, Governor’s Office, CBN, Mr. Jerry Abue, and the Director, Banking Supervision, CBN, Mr. Bello Hassan, the banking sector regulator has granted financial institutions approval to accept payment instruments presented by the affected companies.

The letter titled: “Re: Contravention of Extant Foreign Exchange Regulation,� however, stressed that the PND restrictions on their respective accounts were still in force.

The banks are to open a subsidiary account from where payment of winnings, salaries and other restricted operation expenses from the affected companies, such as

the purchase of diesel (other overhead expenses) would be passed into weekly.

Thereafter, debit on the subsidiary account would be scrutinised by the central bank and swept into the main account after its approval.

The CBN stated: “You will recall that at the meeting held by the Governor of the CBN with your bank and stakeholders of seven betting and gaming companies on September 11, 2020, you pleaded for clemency for processing some transactions in violation of the extant FX regulations. “Similarly, the betting and gaming companies intreated the Governor to allow them to discharge operation expenses. Consequently, the management of CBN has magnanimously granted your bank the approval to honour instruments presented by the

IZE-IYAMU: MY SIMPLE AGENDA WILL TRANSFORM EDO “We will employ the services of drones to monitor most of our localities in order to fish out kidnappers and armed robbers from their hiding places. We will purchase trackers to trace and track kidnappers. We will invest in infrastructure in the areas of health, agriculture and ensure that we use modern technology

tools to drive processes in those areas in order to give real support to the citizens.

People should have access to quality equipment in schools and hospitals.�

He added that if voted into power, he would run a very serious security outfit and bring in all security agencies in the state to fight crimes at

all levels.

Fielding questions about the educational situation of the state, Ize-Iyamu said: “We will invest in education, using technology to drive digital education through e-learning. With COVID-19, we need to change from our traditional way of education to a digital way of offering

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COMMENT

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

ADESINA AND TRUMP: TWO OF A SEASON

The African Union should develop diplomatic strategies to help American investors engage Africa’s vast pool of genius, writes Okello Oculi

A

kinwumi Adesina and Donald Trump have known 2020 as a season of elections crucial for their personal histories and for their mission in governance of a bank for a vast continent, and a vast country of 50 federated states, respectively. Adesina is a younger man with a dazzling record in academic achievements and participation in boards of visionary institutions.

Trump is an old billionaire with a daunting record of jumping off business bankruptcies; making donations to campaign pots of candidates for elections; earning nation-wide recognition through a gripping television drama, and stoking racial hatred against Barack Obama’s candidacy for the presidency by relentlessly lying about his country of birth. Both achieved visibility before contesting for their different types of presidency.

Trump seems committed to profiting from hugging macabre counter-revolutionary history. Specifically, exploiting memories of former slave owners who lost the American civil war but turned their defeat to gain by passing laws which cancelled all laws promoted by Abraham Lincoln’s dedication to America’s constitutional declaration that Black and White people are equal and must enjoy equal rights. In its practice, the legislature of South Carolina was made up of elected 48 African-Americans and 12 White members.

The Ku Klux Klan began to take Blacks back to their former status of slaves; subjecting them to barbaric cruelties. To intimidate Blacks and Whites who believed in equality for all, they hanged them in a festival by members of the organisation. They hanged a white person who supported rights of Black people: in a ratio of four Blacks for every white victim.

Trump’s refusal to condemn white policemen murdering Black men; his support for the 18-year- old lad who went from the State of Illinois to shoot and kill two persons in a Kenosha town in the State of Wisconsin: where a policeman had pumped seven bullets into the back of a Black man who was opening the door of his car to drive his children home. Trump’s electoral base would have screamed in rage if he had condemned the act.

Trump seems determined to create a future personal business market in Russia by shocking Americans weaned in the Cold War era (1945-1989) with the historical truth that 20 million Russians perished in defeating Hitler’s troops directed to make Russia a colony larger than any in the world. Moreover, Hitler’s Germany had killed six million Jews and rolled his army from Poland to Portugal. It was Russia’s destruction of German troops which enabled American and British armies to roll back

WHERE THE IMF DENIES A LOAN TO A COUNTRY BECAUSE IT IS POOR, AFDB MUST BE CREATIVE AND WIPE AWAY TRUMP’S VISION OF AFRICA AS ‘’AS A SHIT-HOLE’’; AN INSULT MEANT TO EXCITE HIS RACIST VOTERS

German knees from necks of western Europeans. Perhaps he seeks to win markets in Russia by cleansing fake history by the ‘’Deep State’’ that Russia is the enemy of Euro-Americans.

Adesina’s dictum that ‘’agriculture is a business’’ promises to inject capital into farming by households.

Multinationals in agro-business should welcome it.

Under colonialism they paid households less than subsistence income.

Injecting capital into colonial agriculture was limited to European immigrant farmers. Banks, insurance companies and railway companies interacted with these farmers but never with peasant households. Adesina’s vision promises to reverse this historical discrimination.

The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) favoured the racist models in Zimbabwe, South Africa, Namibia and Kenya which robbed rural households of their land: while individuals grabbed vast tracts of land. Their history is of impoverishment, starvation and migration to slums; violent colonial dictatorships, and armed struggle by dispossessed peoples. Adesina is not expected to follow this route.

Euro-American, Chinese, Japanese and Russian agriculture are linked to industrial production in all stages: from ploughing land to processing products ranging from chocolate from cocoa; perfume from shea nuts, and wine from rice and banana fruits. Massive intellectual work by engineers, biochemists, manufacturers, shippers and transport operators are engaged. In Africa, Adesina must support infrastructure for building and sustaining these intellectual capacities.

Paul Kagame has emphasised the value of selfconfidence. African leaders have wished for inflow of capital whose conditions respect their vision, and promises high benefits. Where the IMF denies a loan to a country because it is poor, AfDB must be creative and wipe away Trump’s vision of Africa as ‘’As a Shit-hole’’; an insult meant to excite his racist voters.

President Trump opposed Adesina’s re-election apparently because he is open to Chinese investment in Africa.

American diplomats should abandon past wreckage of Africa with the ‘’Structural Adjustment Programme’’.

Positive American support for Africa’s development may come with Joe Biden’s victory. However, her long tradition of assassinating patriotic African, Asian and South American leaders was recently used in Iraq. The African Union must protect Adesina by developing economic diplomatic strategies based on helping American investors to transit to emphasis on creative positive engagement with Africa’s vast pool of genius.

FLOOD OF EXITS

Clem Igie writes that the chance of the PDP candidate of winning the election is increasingly becoming thinner

O

ne after the other they desert his camp. Godwin Obaseki has become a wearied general without formidable troops. How would he triumph in battle? Mr. Joseph Ikpea, the Commissioner for Minerals, Oil and Gas, resigned his appointment from Obaseki’s government and moved to his Ubiaja hometown in Esan Southeast Local Government where he returned to the All Progressives Congress (APC) and joined other members to celebrate his return to the party.

The Governor’s Chief of Staff, Taiwo Akerele opened the floodgate of defections. Paul Ohonbamu (Communication and Orientation) and Ms. Omua OniOkpaku (Environment and Sustainability) also resigned their appointments.

The camp of the governor continues to deplete as the opposition All Progressives Congress’ (APC) Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu gains traction with swelling support across the state. Several Special Advisers also left the government.

In June when Ohonbamu declared for Ize-Iyamu, he wrote in his resignation letter: “Whenever we shall meet again I know not. Therefore, our everlasting farewell takes. If we do meet, why, we shall smile, if not, it is true this parting was well-meaning�.

Giving reasons for quitting Obaseki’s cabinet, Ikpea said “Politics is all about interest, trust and respect for one another, but I have never seen any of this till date, and I am also not sure of it even if there is tomorrow. “Moreover, the party that is known today as APC was brought to Esan South East by me and over 90 percent of my supporters are APC members till date. So, it is difficult for me to leave the

house that I built. Considering also that this administration didn’t recognise my leadership role,� said Joseph Ikpea.

Even in the PDP where the governor sought solace, he is not totally welcomed.

The manner in which he clinched the party ticket caused division within the party which is yet to be resolved till date. A former commissioner in Edo and prominent member of the PDP, Kassim Afegbua kicked when his party handed Obaseki a ticket and vowed to work against his interest.

Despite threats and failed attempts to sack him from the party, Afegbua has been campaigning for the APC candidate.

Afegbua said, “We will join hands collectively with the APC candidate to ensure that Godwin Obaseki does not return. I am a PDP member, but I will vote for APC. A man with the humility of Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu is better than a governor who fights everyone who disagrees with him. “Edo has become too polarised over avoidable and needless battles. Let us have a new leadership that will usher in quiet and peace to everyone. The noises from the Obaseki aspiration have become too polluted and cannot be in the best interest of anyone�.

The massive defections that rocked Obaseki’s camp are indications that the governor has failed. Why would people desert a seemingly pretty comfort terrain to an ‘unknown’ or unpredictable territory? No doubt, they must have seen a credible alternative to the current systems of things.

The pecks and allures of political office were not sufficient as they reportedly found it extremely difficult to market their boss. What message of developments would they take home to constituents when the facts speak for themselves? Is it

in the areas of infrastructure, health and education that Obaseki scored abysmally low that will be the talking point?

The penchant of the government is to sell empty hope which has become trite. Perhaps, the governor did not read the scripture to appreciate that, “Hope deferred makes heart sick�. He has continued to regale the people of his ambitious plans on paper under the guise of Memoranda of Understanding (MoU).

The MoUs that could not come to fruition in the last four years are nothing but fluke to hoodwink the electorate. Alas, the people of the state can see through his deceit and have resolved to reject him at the polls.

The governor also lost his grip over the State House of Assembly when his impunity was checked. The seven members loyal to him whom he had hitherto imposed on the majority APC lawmakers were subdued. He had thought of compromising the APC lawmakers to defect to the PDP but the loyal party men ignored the governor’s overtures and tempting offers. When reality beckoned that he could not triumph at the polls without the political machinery of the APC which he wanted to poach, Governor Obaseki and his deputy deployed strongarm tactics and violence to intimidate the opposition and to suppress the popular will.

The Chairman of the Media Campaign Council of APC, Mr. John Mayaki, recently raised the alarm on how the governor has been camping thugs in Government House and other locations ahead of the polls. Mayaki said, “Buses loaded with strange faces have been spotted entering Benin City, capital of Edo State.

The buses with unidentifiable registration numbers have been increasingly sighted around Ring Road, making their way to

the Government House, Benin as well as other major cities in the three senatorial districts of the state. “We have it on good authority that within the space of two weeks, Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, and his Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have ferried into the state busloads of thugs from neighbouring PDP states. “According to our findings, nearly a thousand thugs are being housed across sections of Government House in Benin, and at designated hotels across the three senatorial districts of Edo State. The only mission they have is to function as disruptive and destructive elements at polling centres during the election�.

The allegations are weighty. The revered Benin monarch, Oba of Benin, Ewuare 11, recently convened a peace meeting at his palace where he warned all political actors in the state to shun violence and rein in their thugs.

If after the revered monarch’s appeal, and the government was still planning to unleash terror on opposition parties then that is wilful. If truly he has delivered in his mandate, the governor should not be jittery but be confident of victory without stress.

The desperation in the camp of Obaseki is a clear indication that he is not the man of the people. Everywhere in Edo, the APC candidate Ize-Iyamu’s SIMPLE agenda, the uncomplicated and clear-cut policy and development agenda for Edo State is gaining acceptance.

The major political actors who are trooping to the APC are not fools. They are not neophytes. They have gauged the pulse of the people and decided accordingly. This game is straight and the permutation clearly favours APC candidate, Ize-Iyamu. Elections are about the people both as voters and mobilizers.

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T H I S D AY Ëž Ëœ ÍŻÍľËœ 2020

EDITORIAL THE SIEGE ON LEGAL PROFESSION A tricky politics of weakening the NBA is on

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n the past few weeks, the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) has been the subject of internal and external fracas. From the discontentment in some quarters following the results of the recent national election to threat of the formation of a splinter (sectional) group, the task of maintaining the fragile unity of NBA must be particularly daunting for the new president, Olumide Akpata, and his national officers.

It appears, however, that Akpata’s toughest battle yet is with the office of the Attorney-General of the Federation and Justice Minister, Abubakar Malami, SAN. Through Statutory Instrument No. 15 of 2020 made on 3rd September 2020, Malami has enacted a series of amendments to the Rules of Professional Conduct for Legal Practitioners in Nigeria 2007. These amendments essentially delete key provisions that enable the efficient regulation of the legal profession and THE NBA HAS BEEN A undermine the VOCAL DEFENDER OF THE financial base RULE OF LAW IN NIGERIA. of the NBA. Not ITS LEGITIMACY AND surprisingly, these amendPOTENCY IN SPEAKING TRUTH TO POLITICAL POWER ments have triggered fresh DEPENDS, LARGELY, ON ITS controversy NUMERICAL STRENGTH AND while raising a myriad of legal GEOGRAPHICAL SPREAD questions.

While the courts are the proper domain to settle those legal issues, there is a troubling question of why Malami appears to be interested in the balkanisation of the NBA and further erode standards in the legal profession. This is coming on the heels of the NBA withdrawal of speaking invitation to Governor Nasir el-Rufai of Kaduna State and the threat of formation of a splinter northern group whose ‘members’ wrote Malami, informing him of their new association. That the provisions that could effectively prevent the formation of this splinter group are the very provisions that have now been deleted by the curious amendments in

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the instrument is not lost on observers. So, there are good grounds to the insinuation that Malami might be dancing to some sectional tunes.

Meanwhile, other provisions deleted by the amendment focus squarely on the proper regulation of the legal profession. For instance, the stamp and seal requirement, which has now been repealed by the amendment, is the primary reason why the NBA has been able to achieve some traction in its long running battle against fake lawyers. The requirement of continuing professional development, which has also been repealed by the amendment, is intended to ensure that lawyers make periodic efforts to maintain their competence. Continuing professional development is key for every profession around the world as is the need for checking the infiltration of quacks.

Even the provisions designed to enable the NBA keep track of the number of law offices operating in Nigeria have been repealed.

We do not believe Malami acted in good faith.

The NBA has been a vocal defender of the rule of law in Nigeria. Its legitimacy and potency in speaking truth to political power depends, largely, on its numerical strength and geographical spread across the country. Any person seeking to undermine the NBA and erode its efficacy as the bulwark of the rule of law, may therefore do so by launching precision strikes at its numerical strength and geographical spread. That the amendments contained in the instrument seem to do exactly that is why many suspect sinister motives.

As things stand, the amendments contained in the instrument effectively open the door and permit the formation of splinter groups. In fact, a recent tweet from a presidential aide confirms that there might be an agenda to weaken the NBA as a professional body. Lauretta Onochie, Senior Special Assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari on New Media, posted a tweet which reads: ‘Before now, membership of the NBA was compulsory for all lawyers. Not anymore! #SaiBaba.’ To the extent that the siege on the legal profession bodes ill for the rule of law in Nigeria, Malami and his accomplices must be called to order.

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

KEBBI DISASTER AND THE HIPPOPOTAMUS KILLING, SNATCHING CHRISTIAN GIRLS

r$POUJOVFE GSPN #BDL 1BHF

I

t is good to establish a committee for 2050 as President Muhammadu Buhari did last week with the National Steering Committee to oversee the development of the Nigeria Agenda 2050 to be jointly chaired by Mr Atedo Peterside (representing the private sector) and Mrs Zainab Ahmed, the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning.

The hope is that it will not end up like previous ones that ended as bus rides to nowhere. Besides, the kind of choices we need to make are not what a committee can do.

All said, the growing challenge with flooding in Kebbi, as in several other states, results from climate change. While no country can legislate against the fury of nature, we can take bold decisions to mitigate its impact in a bid to building a resilient, inclusive and sustainable future. But we are failing miserably. The World Economic Forum has just released a report on population projections that point to a looming danger for our country. While the populations of both India and China will begin to contract from 2050 with a projection that “China’s total population will drop by almost half to 732 million by 2100�, sub-Saharan

Africa led by Nigeria “is the only region that will continue to see growth by century’s end.� Nigeria, according to the same report, “is dealing with a land area nearly 11 times smaller than the United States’—but it will have more than double the population.�

The demographic time bomb alone deserves serious attention but it is one we hardly concern ourselves with. Not only is our population growth rate outstripping our resources and productivity, we are not planning on a projection of how many mouths we will feed in the years to come.

That some villagers in Kebbi understand the significance of wildlife protection shows that all is not lost. It is something we should build upon even as we deal with the immediate challenge the floods have wreaked on lives and livelihoods in several states.

At the end, what we must confront as a national priority is how to ensure that the Nigeria of tomorrow offers greater opportunities than today. That will not happen if the majority of our people remain chained to cultural values and belief systems that promote irresponsible procreation. We must begin to take seriously the sustainability of our environment. r0MVTFHVO "EFOJZJ "CVKB

W

hat is happening to Christians in Nigeria today looks surrealistically like events from the Old Testament of the Bible.

Imagine the finality of that “I Can’t Help It� talk of “killing in Nigeria is a cultural thing.� Thus, no sitting government should intervene to stop these massacres because it is, well, rude and insensitive to trample on the norms of the citizens’ cultural affiliations.

Targeted killing of Christians also come with the “fringe benefit� of snatching Christian ladies away for sexual exploitation. Both of these events also look surrealistically like acts from the Dark Ages. However, by the onset of the Dark Ages, Jesus Christ had been around to reform the ways of mankind and to show the light to true redemption. Why, then, should anyone menace a follower of Christ? It is the answer to troubling questions like this one that is ensuring that people are turning against the religion of their parents.

Who hasn’t heard that, in Iran for instance, young and educated people are converting to Christianity in secret?

The line of thinking is that doing

terrorism against Christians is evidence of self-doubt in you when your philosophy is pitted against that of the Christians. Shedding blood and doing sex diminishes mankind’s claim to true spirituality; that is why Christian monks are sequestered from worldly societies where they pray on behalf of mankind. Israel and America, and now Russia, are solid proofs of where the love of God lies. The Bible says blessed is he who blesses Israel and curse unto him who curseth Israel. At the present time, nations who seek this blessing are normalising diplomatic ties with Israel and President Donald Trump of the US is scheduled for loads of Nobel Peace prizes for his efforts in this regard. Who would imagine that core Muslim climes like Kosovo, the UAE, and Bahrain will recognise and make peace with Israel? We hear that a couple of Muslim “big-fish� nations are on queue. The terrorists of Nigeria should not be surprised to hear that Saudi Arabia also seeks that blessing. r4VOEBZ "EPMF +POBI %FQBSUNFOU PG 1IZTJDT 'FEFSBM 6OJWFSTJUZ PG 5FDIOPMPHZ .JOOB /JHFS 4UBUF

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THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 17, 2020 •T H I S D AY

THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 17, 2020 • T H I S D AY

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T H I S D AY ˾ THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 17, 2020

POLITICS

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

‘Fayemi Has Reinforced the Ekiti Mantra That Hardwork is the Only Way to Success’ Kemi Olaitan holds a conversation with a former Deputy Governor of Ekiti State, Prof. (Mrs.) Modupe Adelabu, on the crisis in the ruling All Progressives Congress and achievements of the administration of Governor Kayode Fayemi

D

o you think the Caretaker Committee put in place at the national level of APC would help in achieving the needed leadership vis-a-vis someone to heal the wounds post-Oshiomhole?

This is too early to comment on, or to judge.

The important thing is that, everything must be done to achieve peace, unity and cohesion within the party.

What is your take on the struggle by politicians of Yoruba extraction for the Presidency come 2023?

An average Yoruba person including me should support a Yoruba President come 2023.

The APC is in crisis in Ekiti State, what do you think is responsible for this?

APC in Ekiti State like any other state is passing through a stage of internal problems and bickering mainly among some of the political leaders. No state in the federation has absolute immunity from political party crisis. This intra- party crisis is also noticeable at the federal level. Thank God for the timely intervention of Mr. President. The crisis in Ekiti State started since 2014 and several efforts were made to nip this in the bud. Every intra- party crisis is about “who gets what, when and how. “ The control of the party structure is the main reason(s) for this crisis. This is politics and it should be expected.

The party is embarking on another round of reconciliation after that of your own committee, do you think the new one is necessary?

A Yoruba adage says, “As long as you have lice or fleas on your clothe, you will continue to have blood stains on your finger nails.”

This is saying that, if crisis persists or new ones crop up, there will always be a need for reconciliation. In Ekiti State, the intra party crisis started as far back as 2014 after the party lost the gubernatorial election. The party elders made several attempts to settle the crisis. Although, the crisis was minimized only for it to resurface during the primary election in Ekiti State (in 2018) in another guise till date. The APC National Peace and Reconciliation Committee of which I was a member was headed by H.E Kashim Shettima.

The committee’s principal task was to reconcile members who have grievances arising from the October and November 2018 Governorship, Senate, House of Representatives and State Assembly primaries.

By implication, the committee’s mandate included identifying and addressing potential concerns that could threaten the party’s chances for all elective positions ahead of the 2019 general elections. We did our best to touch every state and we invited aggrieved members. Some of them turned up to register their complaints.

It should be noted that, in the case of Ekiti State, there were few notable party members that were aggrieved. However, there was strong evidence of aggressive reconciliatory efforts carried out by the state government and the party before our visitation. The Governor himself had made personal efforts to reconcile with his co-gubernatorial aspirants. Based on our observation and party member’s agitation, a lot of recommendations were made, that could have minimized the crisis across boards. Some of such recommendations were that the party should continue to dialogue with the aggrieved party members and reach an agreement with them, and the party should encourage continued reconciliation and open communication where necessary. We also recommended at that time that urgent presidential intervention may be needed to broker peace in the states. For the new reconciliation committee set up by APC, I

Adelabu suggest that they should revisit the report and recommendations of our committee and build on them, while at the same time make their own enquiries. It is my belief that if majority of our recommendations were accepted and considered, the crisis in APC now would have been easier to handle and minimized.

We did our own part but we were not part of the follow up. I therefore recommend that the caretaker committee should take a second look at our report.

The present government in Ekiti State under the leadership of Dr. Kayode Fayemi, came into office with the mantra, “Restoring our values”, how well has this been achieved viz-a-viz infrastructure, agriculture, education and the knowledge economy that the state is targeting?

In Ekiti State, the present government is working it’s talk on “Restoration of Values” in Ekiti State and this cut across all parastatals.

As soon as Dr. Kayode Fayemi assumed office, he set out to turn its campaign promises to reality. The strength of the Ekiti person is deeply reinforced in his believe that, hard work is the only sure way to success and Dr. Fayemi, being an Ekiti person himself has the ’Can-do’ spirit and does not only say this, but works to manifest it. He restructured governance to provide the enabling environment for a

new lease of life and decent living for Ekiti citizens. I believe he has once more given Ekiti State a pride of place in the nation, and once again Ekiti State indigenes anywhere in the world can be proud to say he/she is from Ekiti, unlike what operated in the administration before him.

Thus far, governance under JKF has been restructured to give the institutions under it a new lease of life. He has initiated the policy of knowledge economy as key to meaningful development.

Good Governance: Gender Issues: Ekiti State is the first state to legislate on Gender- based violence, consequently the state has created support and empowerment funds for verified Gender- based violence survivor. This is first of its type both in Ekiti and in federation. The government has also resuscitated vibrant partnership with the civil society. In the area of justice, many laws have been reviewed, amended and enacted. workers welfare is of primary importance to this administration. Civil servants and teachers can now breath as salaries are paid as at when due, part payment of salaries and pension arears inherited from last administration have also been paid.

Infrastructure: A lot of roads are being constructed. Some of these are Agbado-Ode, Isinbode- Omuo road, Ilupeju-Ire Igbemo,

The government has also in addition to primary and secondary education focused attention on tertiary education, Ekiti State University in particular. This may appear deliberate because education is our major business and enterprise in Ekiti State and this has not changed. This is hinged on the believe that a good education is the foundation for a productive future

Igbemo – Ijan road, Oye Iye – Ikun road, Aramoko – Erinjiyan – Ikogosi roads. IbujiIgbaraodo-Ilawe – Ado road. New Ado – Iyin road.

Water Project - A total of 170km of HDPE pipes have been laid in Ado Ekiti metropolis alone which is divided into zones. Rehabilitation work is going on in Ero Dam and hopefully before the end of this year, all things being equal, Ero dam will supply to nine local governments in the state. Similarly, a lot of rehabilitation work is going in Ureje Dam as well as Egbe Dam where the European Union is working presently as a partner of the state government. Ido-Ile mini-water scheme is 100% completed, while that of Oke-Imesi is 80% done. On electricity, the state is working with Transmission Company of Nigeria to construct two of 120 MM 132k substation at Ijesu-Isu and Ilupeju.

Health : Rural health centres have been rejuvenated and given new lease of life. Some General Hospitals in the state which were neglected by the last administration have been rehabilitated immediately Fayemi assumed office. Presently, work is going on in about eight Primary Health Centres while construction of a new comprehensive health centre is on-going around Okela in Ado Ekiti. Free health care is also a State policy for a category of Ekiti citizens.

Ekiti State is one of the least states affected by COVID-19. It is 34th lowest in the country. The response of the state government was not only timely but quite appropriate. Ekiti State has established a Molecular Diagnosis Laboratory to do COVID-19 tests (and ultimately Infectious Diseases test) and molecular biology research in Ekiti.

Agriculture : There are massive land acquisition and clearing for farming purposes to encourage our teeming youths to take into agriculture. There are such farms in Osin where water melon grows and are doing well. There is also such farm in Gede, Oke-Ado and Orin.

The commercial farming programme, Youth in Commercial Agriculture Development (YCAD), has been expanded to accommodate and encourage more young farmers in commercial agriculture. Some youths who embraced the YCAD programme which started in 2012 (first tenure of Fayemi) are successful farmers today and have been sustaining the programme even when Fayemi was not in office. Recently Ekiti State is partnering with CBN to empower 1000 cassava farmers.

Education : The administration inherited a lot of dilapidated schools in 2014 as a result of total neglect by the last administration. There are many ongoing projects in schools. These include: 1. Renovation 348 building 2. New construction 131 buildings including four mega schools 3. Fences 171. 4. Toilets 200. 5.

Boreholes 120. Ekiti primary and secondary schools are undergoing renovation and Education is free up to Secondary School level while government has paid the WAEC fees of the students and obtained JAMB forms for them.

A new tertiary institution which the College of Agriculture and Technology, is getting ready for accreditation.

Cargo Airport Project : The airport project is in phases: Acquisition of Land has been done.

Payment of compensation is ongoing and some land owners have been paid. Fencing is ongoing. Some Ekiti indigenes have indicated interest to partner with the government. Job has started and the airport will be completed and commission before the expiration of JKF’s tenure.

State Secretariat : New buildings at the Secretariat will be completed and ready for commission by October.

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

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T H I S D AY ˾ THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 17, 2020

POLITICS DISSENTING VOICE...IN HIS OWN WORDS ‘Someone Needs to Put Obaseki Out of His Misery’ The Disappearing Symbols Nseobong Okon-Ekong dialogues with Mr. John of National Unity Ize-Iyamu, spokesperson for Pastor Osagie Ize-

Iyamu, Edo State governorship candidate of the Abuja-based businessman and politician, Iboro Otu All Progressives Congress on his candidate’s plans uses vivid imagery to illustrate noticeable the cracks to turn around the fortunes of the state for good in a once cohesive Nigeria

Mayaki

H

ow would you assess the performance of your governorship candidate at the recent debate?

Such occasions are highly charged along partisan lines, as each party tends to tilt the results the way of its own candidate. But most non-partisan minds, looking for quality governance would agree that our candidate, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, asked probing questions on governance and achievements; and then the integrity of his certificates, a question that borders on basic character. Governor Godwin Obaseki could answer none of these questions satisfactorily. On his certificates, he resorted to vulgar abuse.

On policy and governance, he could not answer the questions not because they were difficult, but because his performance level was near-zero, even after committing billions of Naira in scarce Edo money. The failed agricultural programmes are one.

The failed job-creation programmes are another. Governor Obaseki was well and truly at sea, and someone really needed to put him out of his misery, rendering such a miserable account of his stewardship, after three-and-a-half years in sterile power. The voters will do that on Saturday by freely giving their votes to Ize-Iyamu. Indeed, it is high time Edo regained its soul from this misfit, that calls himself a technocrat but has ended up as an unproductive MoU governor. The debate really showed why Governor Obaseki has been vindictive.

Only those who have little to show, in concrete achievements, resort to strongarm tactics. But thank God, judgment day is Saturday.

Accusations have been flying between your governorship candidate’s camp and Governor Obaseki, over threats of violence. What should be done to reassure voters of their safety?

Where the violence is coming from should be clear from the candidates’ meeting with the revered Oba of Benin, Oba Ewuare II. Do you know that residents of Apana community wrote a letter to the Inspector General of police, alleging that Obaseki and Shuaibu used violence to destroy their town and raze houses during the campaign because they ae pro-APC? Shuaibu was there in person. We all saw how the Oba told Deputy Governor Philip Shuaibu to rein in his violent gangs – and how Shaibu promised to tell them to “calm down,” though we all knew he was paying lip service. We also saw how the Oba counselled Governor Obaseki to think of his days after power, citing the instance of former Governor Odigie-Oyegun, who now lives in peace long after his days in power. All those were, I believe, in our

revered Oba’s wisdom, to advise against any spirit of electoral do-or-die. By the way, did anyone see the expression on Obaseki’s face as he endured the royal counsel? But we also saw how Pastor Ize-Iyamu walked to the governor, and hugged him, saying the governor was his elder brother, and politics needed not result in friction, since only the people would freely decide. But still on the follow-up to the Oba’s meeting: We all saw the media attack, by a rogue writer, purportedly from Canada, challenging the Oba’s authority, for partisan purposes. That’s taboo to Bini and general Edo culture! I tell you that it was another display of cultural violence being levied on the Edo people, by a desperate Obaseki clique, who know their time is running out. Well, it is true the Obaseki campaign denied any link to the purported Canadian writer. But everyone knows it’s a case of the voice of Jacob and the hairy arms of Esau. This time, however, no smart Alec will steal Edo’s glory.

All these are sufficient backgrounds to establish that as a popular and grassroots party, we don’t need violence to push our case. We are popular; and if the bulk of the people are our own, why would we inflict violence on them, when our campaign message to them is like preaching to the converted?

But we are also worried about the spectre of violence, particularly from the increasingly desperate Obaseki side.

We are encouraged by the Police security arrangement for the election. We call on the Police and other security agencies to implement the plan to the letter. Our people must be safe to cast their vote in a secure atmosphere and every vote must count. For us, this election will be a carnival, not a war. Saturday will be carnival and picnic for democracy, where we will win back Edo State; and the full Edo parliament, criminally subverted by the outgoing Obaseki dictatorship, will bloom and flourish again. It would be a new dawn. We just want the authorities to secure the process. Meanwhile, violence can be totally curbed if the police can go and flush out the thugs imported from Rivers, Delta, and other states. Hotels like Bibi Hotels are housing these thugs. Ask around in Benin. Some of these thugs are being catered for in Government House.

Although they will be nullified by the police if they try anything untoward on Election Day, better is prevention than a cure.

Are you happy with the preparations by agencies of government like INEC and security agents?

I won’t say we are not unhappy. INEC has been announcing some exciting innovations, as making the election to be COVID-19 compliant, snapping the results at polling stations and posting online, real time, to discourage ballot box snatching and stuffing after the vote, and providing enough security personnel to protect voters and electoral officials.

All these are welcome and the processes should be fortified, so as not to leave any loophole.

Still, we all know that all plans are as good as the integrity and discipline of their implementers. So, INEC must ensure its personnel are not compromised. So must the security agencies. All we need on Saturday is a safe and secure atmosphere.

That is all Pastor Ize-Iyamu needs to stride to victory. It would be a new day.

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

A

t every instance where we dig perilous graves for others, we only dig them for ourselves.

I’ll give an occasion and probably one of the very beginning and illustration of things. Let’s take that word itself, ‘perilous’. As I read an amazing story on the ‘Brazen Bull’, I couldn’t help but imagine if this was the incident where ‘perilous’ derived its meaning as it was from interesting occurrences the Anglo-Saxons made words out of.

Allegedly, at this instance in Akragas, Sicily, its tyrant king, Phalaris, was presented a very wicked contraption, this monstrosity was called the Brazen Bull, artistically and meticulously moulded in the form of a bull, made of bronze, but with a hollow belly in which tubes were connected to orifices in its mouth, nostrils and anus. There was a door on one side through which a human being could be forced in and then roasted to death from under the belle of the beast. The idea of this perilous journey of death was that the commuter would bellow and scream as they were roasted to death. The acoustics of the hollow chambers was such that as the person screamed and wailed, it would follow the hollow tubes and resonate outside of it like an infuriated raging bull, hence the its name.

Someone sat down, thought out, designed and made this. Guess who he was? Mr. Perillos, of course, the owner of the ‘perilous’ title! He told his tyrant king that ‘the screams will come out through the pipes as the tenderest, most pathetic, most melodious bellowings’, and that the scored bones afterwards will shine like jewels and could be made into bracelets’. Such science, sounded exactly like modern day Nigerian leaders and their numerous advisers working on ideas on how to suffer Nigerians to death.

Perillos, an inventor, could’ve used his time to invent anything good, but no, like the origin of his name, he had to be fit for purpose; be perilous.

The king thought for a while and asked Perilous if he could sample the product but because he didn’t have a criminal yet to make an example of, he would still love to hear a mimicry of it by staging a mock show, having someone go inside the bull for a minute and wail albeit without any suffering.

Of course Perillos jumped at it, it was his invention and no one would first him in launching it, he should show the king how it worked. And that is exactly what happened. Poor Perillos jumped inside his contraption and lo, King Phalaris ordered for it to be locked and lit! Perillos has a taste of his own invention and that indeed was the first example of how such could work. It worked perfectly I heard. Perillos bellowed.

That, my friends, is exactly how Karma rewards.

Meanwhile, a few years later Sicily was invaded and captured by another King and guess how King Phalaris went? Of course, down the Raging Bull.

You see these our leaders, you see these our ‘wayo’ leaders building us all sorts of Raging Bulls to kill us by the day? They will end in

Buhari

the belly of the bull, Perillous-ly, all of them.

Each day the impossible is made possible as a result of man’s ability to innovatively pursue good. Only just yesterday, biblically sworn enemies made way for some good; out of an understanding that peace, reconciliation, co-existence and harmony is possible when difficult considerations are made on all sides.

Isreal, Bahrain, UAE made friends with each other, forging a path for lasting peace in the Middle East. And yet, on this parched earth and dust called Nigeria, every opportunity for peaceful co-existence and progress is hijacked by jackals in power as money making opportunity. The earth has long evolved to a point where humanity has realized that when we think good for others we only do good for ourselves; not only for others. This peace agreement works in each of their best selfish interests, first. What can we then, as a nation, borrow from this?

We are a concomitance of two hundred million people. A wealthy and diversity rich human resource that could be mined for it’s immense possibilities, yet, at every juncture, the wickedness of our Perillos always come out in ways of developing hard-starting whenever anything good comes up.

The household art of war begins with standing akimbo, giving the other party ample time to sense danger and structure their defense before the war begins. The real battle however, long began with our imaginations and machinations of war and self defense with each other, in our minds. Slay that and you slay it’s manifestations. We must identify and slay our Perilloses.

Obasenjo has spoken, Danjuma has spoken, Kukah has spoken, Babangida has spoken, Abdulsalam has spoken, who hasn’t spoken? See how you can tell who I’m taking about even with mentioning only their first names? It goes to legitimize their popularity and position in this country and all of them are saying same words as if they were reading from same script. Every symbol of unity is fractioning. Lately, it is the Arewa Consultative Forum fracking into North and North-Central forums. That, right there, is standing akimbo popularly termed as ‘fire on the mountain’.

My role is to call the fire service and point the direction, what is your role?

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T H I S D AY Ëž ÍŻÍľËœ 2020

FEATURES

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

NPower Volunteers at Crossroads By Mathew Africa Mathew Africa

T

he social investment program created by the Federal Government in 2016 with the primary aim of reducing poverty is gradually experiencing a downturn. From delay in inhumane stipends that can't meet daily obligations of the volunteers to undefined or uncertain exit package plan for the Npower beneficiaries among others.

On the 24th February, 2020 Ogun State Npower beneficiaries trooped to the streets on a two day protest to drive to the seat of government their demand for basic human rights or economic security and certainty.

After four years and two years of hardwork, endurance, commitment, dedication , endurance and service to primary and secondary school pupils and students , Health centers and farmlands by Batch A and B respectively , the government whose serial negligence in rewarding values throw this nation into instability is at it again talking disengagement of volunteers.

A system that economically segregates the child of the nobody is creating a society divided into two. That of the nobody and that of the somebody.

A society where hardwork, diligence is thrown into the dustbin of the streets.

The primary aim of any responsible government is to provide security and economic security where people can work and earn decent living and live life not the one that's greasing an opportunistic few for the next election.

We face security threats today due to economic injustice and inequality. So the country is wounded and paying the supreme price the with the lives of the powerless. Some politicians can no longer visit their hometown. Abuja is their new hometown.

As a matter of emergency the government ( state and federal )ought to have made the platform an employment pool where graduates from different fields are drawn to fill vacant positions in Ministeries and private firms instead of giving slots to politicians as an investment for next election.

Primary School and secondary school pupils can attest to the passion invested by Npower volunteers in impacting them with knowledge so far so good even when stipends were unpaid for three months in 2019 and later paid by December.

This testimonial of sacrifice and service should have been considered before now because another fact according to Senior Special Adviser to the president on job creation is that there is shortage of teachers in state schools across the nation, a verifiable fact. According to him, "What we have found out is that they are filling a lot of gaps in some places like schools, where they do not have enough teachers.In some schools where the Npower are posted to, you discovered that it is only the principal and some NYSC members that are teaching students, the Npower teachers have helped to compliment their efforts,� he said.

Also in Ekiti , a 34 years old veteran teacher revealed "If not all of them, a majority of the

N-Power teachers have mastery of the subject matter. They have not been found wanting also in the theoretical aspect of teaching. Especially the way they make use of teaching aid in classes; and that is actually very impressive. “There is one of them who is a Physics teacher now, we have to keep deploying from one class to the other just because we don’t have adequate teachers to cover those classes. “The one that is taking Christian Religious Knowledge is a born teacher, who is very efficient and very punctual in her classes.�

In far away Kano , Haliru Inuwa, the Principal of Government Secondary School, Daurawa said the eight N-Power teachers deployed to his school since December 2016 have been the saving grace for him and his students. “We have eight beneficiaries of N-Power posted to my school here,� he said. “Most of them are handling core science subjects which most of the schools in Kano state are lacking generally. Yes, subjects like Mathematics, English etc. To our surprise, and against the earlier concern raised that they might not perform well in teaching, the N-Power volunteer teachers are not only committed to their teaching, but are also punctual.�said the principal.

With stakeholders attesting to an excellent service by Npower beneficiaries with sense of duty, shouldn't any responsible state government put a process in motion for a permanent absorption of these indefatigable volunteers? Over the last two years Lagos State have recruited not less than twice, thousands of teachers, yet there are still shortage of teachers such that the vacuum are being complimented by these unappreciated

volunteers, infact their hardwork ad service cannot be overemphasised because they worked even more than they are paid for.

So also Federal government have recruited their loved ones into CBN, NNPC , National Assembly and other ministries without any consideration for those who have served this country diligently and passionately as Volunteers.

The best to think of is to disengage them. If the reward for hardwork is disengagement then our nation is promoting negative ideals and values.

And that will hunt them later.

Our leaders sit down in their offices ,full A.C and step on the hardwork of these young men and women. And allocate slots to their friends and families. They prefer party politics of recruitment.

We the people own the state and we the people are the government not some politicians.

Since the coming of the Minister of humanitarian affairs disaster management and social development ,there have been no love lost between her and the Volunteers.

From months of stipend delays to months of outstanding allowances . The Honorable Minister never stopped using the media to spin the narrative of her disdain for youths whose hardwork can never be deleted through her encyclopedia of lies.

I don't know if the honorable Minister has a degree in propaganda because she seem to love that art alot and her moves are deft and inhumane.

We have heard from a time when she said she has paid stipends but alert refused to drop for anyone. Volunteers were fooled by her media statement to continuous media Statement giving empty assurance.

She at one point had to pay on Sunday before appearing before house committee on poverty alleviation for hearing on unpaid stipends. Most questions asked by the lawmakers were thrown to her subordinate on the seat for answers when she couldn't answer them.

Most times when asked by media on the delayed payment she would say she has signed for payment that it's now in accountant generals office for payments. That payments most times can be in months. So who is decieving who ? The honorable Minister or the "Victim" accountant general who has never made any clarification on such statement by the minister.

Recently, she asked the focal persons from each State to collate Npower Volunteers data for transition plan. But as we speak there is no official communication to back that up but what we have is Volunteers creating a data collection platform to collate data.

And no official statement from State focal persons to corroborate the media directive the minister gave as regards collation of data. Another question is don't they have our data before now?

How have they been paying us if they need to collate our data again? What Happened to our existing data that they have with them that they now need a new one for transition plan?

There is a propaganda story that she is to test run 200,000 for the transition plan out of 500,000 . Initially, we heard 2000 but today it's now gone up to 200,000. Who will save our government officials from lies.

As I write, thousands of people are being owed. July stipends unpaid. Her response so far is that" The office of the AccountantGeneral is the last authority responsible for the release of their stipends. However, all is being done to get them paid."

Is she and her staff not receiving their salary?

Somedays ago she said she was celebrating one year in office, a celebration of lackluster performance or wickedness or lies?

The two main tiers of government : Federal Government and State government who directly benefitted from the valuable and priceless services of this young aspiring Nigerians should search deep within their conscience , dig for empathy compassion and kindness and make a decisive decision , popular or unpopular in keeping their promises of creating millions of jobs yearly and also fulfilling the fundamental human right of dignity and decent life by giving permanent jobs to Volunteers and grants to those who may wish to start their own business.

Honorable Minister , please find joy in showing quality and visionary leadership such that history will judge you Fairly. What Volunteers are asking for is fairness not privilege.

After all, unemployment is man made and the solution too will come from social justice.

Overcoming poverty and unemployment is possible if we put our selfishness and greed aside.

For any country to be great, it has to be compassionate. t.BUIFX "GSJDB XSJUFT GSPN -BHPT

Water Union, CAPPAWrite Buhari to Withdraw National Water Bill The Amalgamated Union of Public Corporations Civil Service Technical and Recreational Services Employees (AUPCTRE) and the Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA) have urged President Muhammadu Buhari to withdraw the National Water Resources Bill 2020 owing to its pro-privatisation and other anti-people provisions.

The letter to President Buhari was informed by a clause by clause analysis of the Bill done by both organisations which exposed the dangers it posed to attainment of the Human Right to Water, and the wide criticism that its re-emergence at the National Assembly has garnered from both civil society and other groups across the federation.

AUPCTRE and CAPPA, in the letter, dated September 3, 2020, addressed to the President Muhammadu Buhari , said the Bill had very disturbing provisions and would impose a privatisation agenda on Nigerians with accompanying draconian provisions that was only possible in the military era.

According to Director of Programmes Corporate Accountability & Public Participation Africa, Philip Jakpor, the Bill, with a long title ‌An Act to Establish a Regulatory Framework for the Water Resources Sector in Nigeria, provide for the equitable and sustainable development management, use and conservation of Nigeria’s surface Water and Ground Water Resources and for related matters, failed to secure concurrent passage by both Houses under the Eighth Assemblyin 2018.

He said in the current Assembly, it has scaled Second Reading in the House of Representatives and has been referred to the House Committee on Rules and Business.

In the letter signed by AUPCTRE National President, Comrade Benjamin Anthony and CAPPA Executive Director, AkinbodeOluwafemi, both organisations expressed worry that two years after the same Bill was discarded, it again found its way to the hallowed chambers in an unwholesome manner and without recourse to public opinion and protocols.

They were particularly concerned about Sections 1, 2, 3, 13, 22, 24, 89, 98, 104, 105 and 107. As well as Sections 109, 110, 120, 121, 125, 129 and 131.

In Section 1 (l) they alerted that though on the surface of the Bill, it appears that Public-private partnership is beneficial and will only apply to infrastructural development of water resources, there was no way private corporations would commit resources to the development of water without a measure of control and ownership.

They also explained that Section 24 which gives almost absolute power to a commission to be set up was outrageous, and vests too much power in the same Commission, and therefore subjects activities on water management and control to arbitrariness and the possible political whims and caprices of the Federal Executive Council (FEC).

They found Section 104 (7) which subjects anyone who contravenes the law to prison terms ranging from 2-5 years as “arbitrary and against the spirit of human rights.�

They insisted that if the Bill scales through with its current intent and imperfections, it would result in dispossessing Nigerian citizens of their inherited and cultural rights to waterand that it was against the spirit of the July 28, 2010 United Nations General Assembly Resolution which recognised in explicit terms, the human right to water and sanitation and acknowledged that clean drinking water and sanitation are essential to the realisation of all human rights.

As way forward, they requested that President Buhari use his good office to recall the contentious document from the legislative quarters and kickstart a fresh process which will entail consultation with Nigerians from the initial stages through the entire process at the National Assembly.

Copies of the letter were also sent to the Vice president, Senate President, Speaker of the House of Representatives and the Senate and House Committee Chairs on Water Resources. The House Committee on Rules and Business and the Minister of Water Resources were also in copy.

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T H I S D AY Ëž ÍŻÍľËœ Í°ÍŽÍ°ÍŽ

#THISISNIGERIA - Blessing Uwisike

- Kevwe Oghide

State of Emergency SGBV: Prioritising Survivors

H

as the world become more hypersexual? Or have people become more vocal about sexual harassments and abuse? These questions linger on one’s mind as the number of reported rape cases and abuse continue to increase on news platforms. The Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, said in July 2020 that the Police Force recorded 717 rape cases in 5 months. This alarming increase has triggered a nation-wide revolt, where a number of groups, citizens and Civil Society Organisations like CODE, TechHer, EIE, EVA, StandtoEndRape and other initiatives are raising their voices and calling on the government to declare a State of Emergency on Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV)..

Sadly, women and girls are the worsthit— especially as they already grapple with disproportionately high records of marginalisation all over the world. Violence against women and girls is not only a devastating phenomenon for families and society, it is a pandemic that affects 1 in 3 women in their lifetime, according to WHO. In Nigeria, 17% of girls and women between the ages of 15 and 49 have been subjected to sexual or physical violence at least once in their lives.

While we are concerned about the staggering statistics, we are equally reminded that behind these figures are real people with real experiences who are going through untold

mental issues in the wake of these atrocities in a country where there is prevalent negligence of issues that do not fetch more money to those in power. Gender-based violence is also becoming a rising issue in online communities and girls or women who dare to report such incidences have either been shut down or have had to bow to pressure to leave the platforms as a result of threats and shaming. Reporting can be even harder as most victims are defiled by close relatives and family friends.

In an ideal situation, this realisation should induce empathy, but more importantly, drive relevant agencies such as the Police Force, the National Agency for Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), Ministry of Women Affairs and anti-SGBV initiatives to continue to provide succour and protect SGBV survivors.

The disruption in these crucial services is compromising the care and support that survivors need, like clinical management, mental health check and psycho-social support. It is also allowing perpetrators to go unpunished.

At the moment, only a handful of Nigerian States have functioning Sexual Assault Referral Centres (SARC) and are implementing laws that specifically protect women and girls from domestic violence. There are currently 22 SARCs in Nigeria which is significantly low and insufficient for caring for survivors. Many of these referral centres are poorly equipped.

This shameful reality portrays how less of a priority SGBV cases are handled in the country.

The Violence Against Persons Prohibition Act (VAPP Act), that clearly outlines laws to expunge violence in Nigeria and in turn, ensure respectable living and decent behaviour among citizens of Nigeria, has still not been domesticated in 20 States, 5 years after its enactment. The act seeks to prohibit all forms of violence, including physical, sexual, psychological, domestic, harmful traditional practices like female genital mutilation; and to provide maximum protection and effective remedies for victims and punishment of offenders. Although 25 States claim to have adopted the Child Right Act, there are prevalent cases of child marriages and child abuse in many communities in the country, especially in Nigeria’s North. The poor implementation of the Act has also fuelled impunity for the perpetrators of SGBV. NAPTIP must be strengthened to domesticate the VAPP Act across the country and also increase citizens’ awareness of its laws and implications of violations. Safe spaces for survivors of rape, domestic violence and sexual assault must be highly prioritised.

Communities need to be educated on the need to protect victims of SGBV and not shame them or turn a blind eye. Cyber-bullying and slut-shaming of survivors is significantly on the rise, many survivors are afraid to speak

up because of the backlash the society deals them—although this is gradually changing as there are support groups springing up, more needs to be done in this regard. Sexual predators and rape apologists must face the wrath of the law.

Oftentimes, a survivor's first point of contact is the health centre, and the quality of service will either begin the healing process or deepen the scar that these victims already carry. Functional facilities that provide proper care for survivors including counselling must be established. SGBV care-providers, qualified specialists and counsellors must be adequately trained to meet global standards. In the same vein, dedicated centres that address SGBV and help victims seek redress (if they desire) should be fully equipped and readily accessible.

As a society that is still largely patriarchal, values like consent, gender equality, and a renewed glance on old harmful traditional practices like female genital mutilation and incest must be discussed in groups and authoritative platforms to further educate the public. Womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s contribution to societyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s development should be embraced, and their interests fully represented and protected by all means. t ,FWXF 0HIJEF JT UIF $PNNVOJDBUJPOT "EWPDBDZ -FBE BU $POOFDUFE %FWFMPQNFOU <$0%&> BOE #MFTTJOH 6XJTJLF JT UIF .FEJB %JSFDUPS 0OF"GSJDBO$IJME 'PVOEBUJPO

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THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 17, 2020 â&#x20AC;¢T H I S D AY

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T H I S D AY ˾ SEPTEMBER 17, 2020

BUSINESSWORLD R A T E S

A S

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

S E P T E M B E R S & P INDEX INDEX INDEX LEVEL 1-DAY

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Quick Takes Airtel, Google to Enhance Internet Experience

STRENGTHENING PARTNERSHIP

L-R: Deputy Speaker, Bauchi State House of Assembly, Hon. Danlami Kawule; Deputy Governor of Bauchi State, Alhaji Baba Tela; Governor, Senator Bala Mohammed; Group Head of Commercial Services, Notore Plc, Tijjani St. James; Head of Government Affairs, Notore, Yakubu Abdurrahman, and Bauchi State Commissioner for Agriculture, Sama’ila Burga during a visit of Notore management to the Governor after the inauguration of Notore Plc’s solar-powered integrated community water project in Kangere LGA, Bauchi…recently

New Report Seeks Repeal, Re-enactment of Cybercrime Act 2015 Stories by Emma Okonji A new report that explores the state of digital rights and privacy in Nigeria that was launched by Paradigm Initiative, a Pan-African Digital Rights and Inclusion organisation, is seeking for the repeal and re-enactment of the Cybercrime Act 2015, among others.

The report, which was launched during a recent civil society webinar on Nigeria’s draft data protection bill focused on Nigeria’s political and policy environment as well as practices around digital rights and privacy.

Aside recommending the repealing and re-enactment of the Cybercrimes Act 2015, the report also recommended the passage of the digital rights and freedom bill and the data protection bill, in order to raise public awareness of citizens on

TELECOM data protection.

It also recommended a review of certain regulations by Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), to include judicial and public accountability in order to address the potential for abuse and abuses occasioned by the politics of regime preservation.

Since the Cybercrime Act was passed by former President Goodluck Jonathan at the time he was leaving office in 2015, there had been agitations from different quarters of the country, calling for the repeal and review of the Act, which according to them, “is punitive rather than corrective.”

Before the enactment of the Cybercrime (Prohibition, Prevention etc) Act 2015 the Advanced Fee Fraud and

Other related offences Act, 1995, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission Act, 2004 and the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act 2011 regulated cybercrimes in Nigeria, however these Acts were inadequate to regulate cybercrimes and this raised an urgent need for the enactment of a Cybercrime Law. Section 5 to Section 36 of the Cybercrime Act, contains offences punishable under the Act and penalties in respect of the offences. Section 5 of the Act prescribes the punishment for a person who commits an offence contrary to the critical national information infrastructure. Such person would be liable under to 10 years imprisonment. If the act causes bodily harm to any person, 15 years imprisonment, if the act causes death to another, life imprisonment.

Section 6 of the Act crimi-

nalizes unlawful access to a computer. Section 6(1) provides that any person who without authorization, intentionally accesses in whole or in part a computer system or network for fraudulent purposes and obtain data that are vital to national security commits an offence and would be liable to five years imprisonment or fine not less than N5,000,000 or both. If the person has an intent to obtain computer data, the punishment is seven years.

Some of the agitations were that the penalties for some offenses were harsh and could stifle business growth, while the fines were not commensurable with the offenses.

While analysing the report and the webinar, Senior Program Manager at Paradigm Initiative, Continued on page 24

Google Earmarks $3m Grants to Support Businesses across Africa Google has announced new initiatives to support African businesses with grants, Nigeria inclusive.

Google Nigeria Country Director, Juliet Ehimuan, who announced the initiatives during the virtual Google Economic Recovery Roundtable, held, recently, said to provide assistance to vulnerable populations, Google. org has set aside $3 million in grants to nonprofits that support education, entrepreneurship and women empowerment across Africa.

According to her, $500,000 of the amount would go towards a grant to the Praekelt Foundation, a software development nonprofit that builds open-source, scalable mobile technologies and solutions to improve the health

TELECOM and wellbeing of underprivileged people, in order to help train micro and small businesses in Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa.

“In an effort to help job seekers acquire new skills while they look for opportunities, Google is providing underserved communities and job seekers with $750,000 in Information Technology (IT) support scholarships through Google.org across Africa. Job seekers can also access the Grow with Google training portal for help in growing their careers or businesses at their own pace and through flexible and personalised training courses.

“For educational institutions and teachers, Google is working with partners across

Africa, through Google for Education, to help deploy its suite of education products in schools and help 500,000 students continue learning. To help teachers keep teaching, Google aims to give 25,000 educators access to free online training sessions and resources, such as Teach From Anywhere. Google is also giving a grant of $250,000 to organisations in Nigeria, which are developing programs and tools to boost literacy for children in low-income schools in the country,” Ehimuan said.

She further explained Google would set up a digital hub providing free tools and resources to businesses and individuals.

Through the hub, 500,000 small businesses will receive help getting online or improving their

digital presence through Google My Business (GMB) which helps them connect with millions of users every month.

“Small businesses have been hardest hit during this COVID-19 period. Many of them have had to figure out quickly how to pivot their operations to a ‘digital-first’ approach. Yet, there remains a gap between those who can access these online opportunities and those who can’t. That’s the gap we want to bridge with these initiatives,” Ehimuan said.

She added that the tech company’s initiatives would address the need for funding, training and services across identified sectors, including Continued on page 24

AirtelNigeriahasannouncedapartnershipwithGoogletounveilMobileData Platform(MDP),anewfeaturethatenhancesanddigitalisesthejourneyof customers’datapurchase,utilisationandmanagementinNigeria.

According to both organisations, the newly introduced MDP, which is only available to Android Operating System (OS) users, offers a personalised experienceandprovidesinterfacefordatacustomersontheAirtelnetworkto purchasedataplans,checkdatabalanceandreceivethresholdnotifications seamlesslywithoutaneedformemorisingcodesorshortwords.

Toaccesstheservice,AirtelcustomerswithAndroidOSarerequiredtogo tosettingsontheirAndroiddevice,thenGoogleoptionwheretheywillfind theMDPtopurchaseaswellasmanagedataplanandoffers.

CommentingonthelaunchoftheMobileDataPlatform,ChiefCommercial Officer,AirtelNigeria,DineshBalsingh,said“Airtelisdelightedtobethefirst telecomsoperatorinNigeriaandAfricatopartnerwithGoogletodeliveran innovativeservicethatisofferingtruefreedomandalsoputtingrealpower in the hands of telecoms consumers as they define their data journey and experience.”

Balsinghadded:“AtAirtel,wearedeeplypassionateaboutmakinglifesimpler, smarter,easierandbetterforourcustomers.Indeed,thelaunchoftheMDP isahugestepforwardinempoweringtelecomsconsumerstobecomemore productiveandsuccessfulintheirprofessionalandpersonalendeavours.”

Paxful Expands, Adds Tether to its Platform

Globalpeer-to-peerbitcoinmarketplace,Paxful,hasannouncedtheaddition ofTether (USDT) to its platform.The inclusion of USDT, the world’s largest stablecoinbymarketvalue,willassistusersincombatingavolatilemarket, protectingtheirassets,andexpandingtheirportfolio.

Theindustryhasseenasurgingdemandforastabledigitalcurrencyamidst fearsofaneconomicrecessioninbothtraditionalanddigitalmarkets.Inthelast 12months,Tetherhasestablisheditselfasachampionamongststablecoins, withamarketcapitalizationofover$13billion.

CEO, and co-founder of Paxful, Ray Youssef, said: “We consider this a big step for us since this is the first cryptocurrency other than bitcoin we have ontheplatform.Wealwayslistentoourusers.Weunderstandthattheygo to Paxful for wealth generation and turn to crypto for stability when their nationalcurrencyisaffectedbyinflation.Wehopethatthiscanaidthemto bemoreincontroloftheirfinances.”

Theadditioncomeswithahedgingoption,allowinguserstoinstantlyconvert BTC to USDT and vice versa, helping the users protect their funds during bitcoinpricefluctuations.

The company also plans to enable USDTtrading on the platform. Same as with the bitcoin (BTC) trading in the Paxful marketplace, users can buy and sellUSDTwithover300paymentmethods.TheUSDTbalanceisaccessible viathewalletpage,wherethecurrentmarketpriceforbothcoinsisdisplayed.

ThelaunchofthisfeaturemarksPaxful’sfirststeptowardspotentiallyadding newcryptocurrenciesinthefuture.

Thecompanyrecentlyannouncedthattheplatform,Paxfulhashit4.5million registeredwallets,reached$4.6billionintradingvolume,andreduceddispute levels to under one per cent. Since inception, they have added one million users per year and so far in 2020 and are on track to sign up an additional twomillionusersbytheendoftheyear.

StarTimes GO Offers Black Friday Sales

StarTimes GO, an e-shopping channel on pay-TVplatform StarTimes, has partneredtopretailandtechbrandstocushiontherisingcostoflivingandhelp Nigeriansmeettheirhouseholdandpersonalneedsatmoreaffordableprices.

ViaitsmaidenBlackFriday,whichbeginstomorrow,shopperswillhavethe opportunity to buy select tech and household products with up to 50 per centdiscount.

TheonlinesaleswillholdonStarTimesFacebookpage.

The goods on display are directly from manufacturers and StarTimes has partnered them to subsidise the goods, saving shoppers extra money as inflationmounts.Goodswillbesoldattheirbottomprices,muchlowerthan marketpriceonlyduringtheBlackFridaysales. Earlybirdswillbegiftedextra techproductsforpurchasesmade.

The products on display include Tecno phones, female bags, blenders, smoothie makers, electric shaver; Lontor range of products which include energy-savingandpower-surgeLEDbulbs,anti-surgepowersockets,power banks,rechargeablemistfansaswellasfoldableandrechargeablereading lamps.AlsoondisplayareMINISOproducts,amongothers.

Launched last week, StarTimes GO, an integrated e-shopping platform, offers audience access to a massive array of superior quality products, with great designs, at super cheap prices. Goods are directly delivered to thedoorstepsofshoppers.

“Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) play a key role in managing new operational complexities, achieving cost efficacy, minimising operational errors and augmenting the human capabilities” Head of Managed Services for Ericsson Gulf Countries,

Mr. Mohamed Elsokkary

T H I S D AY Ëž ÍŻÍľ, 2020

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BUSINESSWORLD NEW REPORT SEEKS REPEAL, REENACTMENT OF CYBERCRIME ACT 2015 Adeboye Adegoke, said: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Given the work that we do, part of our advocacy objectives is to ensure that the development of digital policy receives quality inputs from us. Our focus is clear in this regard; rights, inclusion, and innovation. We will advocate against draft legislation/policy that seeks to limit rights, stifle innovation or widen access gaps and we will support those who seek to promote access, rights, and innovation.â&#x20AC;?

The Chief Operating Officer at Paradigm Initiative, Nnenna Paul-Ugochukwu in her remarks recognised that PIN represents a lot of other voices within the civil society space and this explains why the webinar and the report launch were held together, to present the organisationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s research output and to capture the views of other civil society organisations in its submission to the federal government on the draft data protection bill.

GOOGLE EARMARKS $3M GRANTS TO SUPPORT BUSINESSES ACROSS AFRICA support for 500,000 SMBs and 25,000 teachers. â&#x20AC;&#x153;This support includes a partnership with the Nigerian Ministry of Youth and Sports Development. The partnership will provide support for youthowned SMBs. It will also provide support for jobseekers in Nigeria to help them acquire marketable skills through certification and training programs, and involve supporting programs that enable and improve access to quality education across the region,â&#x20AC;?

Ehimuan said.

The Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Mr. Sunday Dare, who was pleased with the initiatives, said the partnership between Google and the Ministry of Youth and Social Development, would motivate Nigerian youths to become more innovative to explore their world of technology.

According to the Minister, Google partnership would enhance Googleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s execution plans towards achieving a renewed commitment to support small businesses and individuals in Nigeria to recover, following negative slowdowns resulting from COVID-19.

NEWS

NCS Advocates Policy Implementation for Fourth Industrial Revolution Stories by Emma Okonji Having missed out in the first, second and third industrial revolutions as a nation, the Nigeria Computer Society (NCS), the umbrella body for information technology practitioners in Nigeria, has called on the federal government to implement policies that will enable Nigeria benefit from the fourth industrial revolution, which is about digital knowledge skills.

NCS made the call during its 15th International Conference, which held recently.

Participants at the virtual conference with the theme: Emerging Applications and Technologies for Industry 4.0, urged government to implement policies capable of enabling smart technologies for a quantum leap into the fourth industrial revolution.

The Director-General/CEO, National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), Aliyu Aziz, said: â&#x20AC;&#x153;It is important to remind us that we are at the threshold of a revolution that will fundamentally change the way we live, work and relate to one another and the revolution is happening at a very great speed. We have a lot of catching up to do here in Africa and Nigeria to be part of this change and shift.â&#x20AC;?

Aziz emphasised that the fourth industrial revolution 4.0 had presented challenging ideas about what it means to be human with new security concerns, major impacts on business and government. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The ensuing disruptions and shifts

mean that we live in a time where we must employ and regulate these technologies to capture their benefits, exploit the opportunities it presents and also work harder to minimise the great risks it portends for our future,â&#x20AC;? Aziz said.

NCS President, Prof. Adesina Sodiya, spoke on the opportunities and benefits of complete transformation to industry 4.0, as well as the developmental implications and relevant of robotics, autonomous design, augmented reality, Internet of Things (IOT), Big Data Analytics and Artificial Intelligent (AI),

among others.

Discussants and panelists drawn from within and outside the country, deliberated on opportunities of fourth industrial revolution and the need for government to develop policies that will enable Nigerians to benefit from the global opportunities.

The conference stressed the need for NCS to work with relevant government agencies including state and local governments to provide nationwide advocacy on implementation of emerging applications and current technologies in a bid

to becoming one of top industrialised nations in the world.

The conference recognised data as the heart of forth industrial revolution, thus emphasised the effect of compromised data, which could affect factors of production and subsequently the nationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). It therefore called on policy makers to render adequate support to relevant agencies towards implementing appropriate regulations in this regard.

Participants at the conference called on the federal government to classify internet access

as a fundamental right of the citizens in other achieve the fourth industrial revolution.

They also stressed on the need for industries to embrace smart technologies and leverage on cyber physical systems to provide services in critical sectors of the economy such as energy supply, health care, traffic management and predictive maintenance in manufacturing sector.

It was resolved that NCS must work with governments and other international organisations to combat insecurity through data exchange and information sharing.

COURTESY VISIT

President/Chairman of Council, Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria(CIBN), Mr. Bayo Olugbemi (left), presenting the instituteâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s crest to Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Isa Pantami, during a stakeholdersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; engagement with the minister in Abuja... recently

Report: 70% of Nigerian Startups Experience Funding Challenges Endeavor, the global highimpact entrepreneurship network has published a white paper report in partnership with Stears Data, entitled â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Protecting Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Entrepreneurial Futureâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;.

The report outlined a number of proposals for Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s government policymakers and the business community, as local start-ups and scale ups navigate the repercussions of the global pandemic. These include financial and nonfinancial support programs, as well as investment opportunities to boost existing funding efforts.

According to the report, â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Nigerian technology startup ecosystem recorded over $700 million in Venture Capital (VC) funding in 2019.

The report added that 84 per cent of startups has reported disruptions to their fundraising efforts, with 79 per cent of startups having less than a six month buffer and only 6 per cent has cash runway of 13-25 months. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Alongside the drastic impact on the local funding environment, startups have experienced significant declines in sales and revenue, disruption of business operations

as a result of lockdown and the implementation of strategic staffing decisions by companies. It is now known that Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s GDP contracted by 6.1 per cent in the second quarter of 2020.â&#x20AC;?

The white paper highlights rapid intervention from policymakers and cash flow support as the most urgent startup needs, closely followed by bespoke interventions, tailored to the high-growth, innovation business model. The need for startups, scale-ups and investors to maintain flexibility to operate in ways that promote the growth of

the innovation ecosystem, was also addressed as a focal point.

Endeavor is a missionoriented organisation that is leading the global movement for high-impact entrepreneurship. Endeavor selects, mentors and accelerates the best highimpact entrepreneurs growth and underserved ecosystems, supporting them to scale their companies and drive local and regional economic growth.

Its growing local network of 10 high-growth, scale-up companies in Nigeria includes Paga, Kobo360, Carbon, Migo and Flutterwave.

Giving details of the white

paper, Managing Director and CEO of Endeavor in Nigeria, Eloho Omame, said: â&#x20AC;&#x153;At Endeavor, we believe firmly that the innovation ecosystem, which is the transformational startups and scaleups, and their founders, who are building sustainable growth models in Nigeria, are fundamental to economic growth and the fabric of our future economy.

The white paper shares our inhouse perspective on proactive solutions that can be taken to minimise the negative impact on businesses and the economy and improve its prospects for the long term.â&#x20AC;?

Enyo to Automate Fuel Management with Technology Nosa Alekhuogie Group Business Editor

Obinna Chima

Capital Market Editor

Goddy Egene

Comms/e-Business Editor

Emma Okonji

Senior Correspondent

Raheem Akingbolu (Advertising) Correspondents

Chinedu Eze (Aviation) Eromosele Abiodun (Maritime) James Emejo (Finance) Ebere Nwoji (Insurance) Chineme Okafo (Energy) Emmanuel Addeh (Energy)

Reporters

Nume Ekeghe (Money Market) Nosa Alekhuogie (ICT) Peter Uzoho (Energy)

Enyo Retail and Supply has introduced a secure, automated fleet and fuel management solution called Velox.

Velox is a wallet-based payment solution, which offers customers the ability to control their fuel and energy purchases.

The new innovation, which was launched during a recent virtual media parley, is accessible to corporates and individuals through a dedicated card or sticker and is specifically designed to bring ease, transparency and control of purchases within Enyoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s products and services portfolio.

According to the company, the product has been tailored to fit each customerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s requirements as it offers customizable solutions including when and how payments are made, ability to set consumption and credit limit, as well as monitoring consumption.

Giving details of the solution, the Chief Executive Officer of Enyo Retail and Supply, Mr. Abayomi Awobokun, said: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Featuring a â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Do It Yourselfâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; portal on the Enyo website, customers can request for Velox by filling a registration form with bio-data, vehicle details, and payment details.

Customers will then select the

nearest Enyo station from where they would like to pick up their card, which will be available within 24 hours.â&#x20AC;?

Commenting on the launch of Velox, Awobokun, explained that the logic behind Velox was in utilizing technology to transform the downstream petroleum network in Nigeria.

According to him, â&#x20AC;&#x153;We want our customers to be in control of the fuel purchasing process and their expenses as simplifying the customer experience is at the heart of our efforts. At Enyo, we will seek channels to improve upon and constantly innovate to ensure overall convenience and satisfaction for our customers

across Nigeria. Enyo Retail was established in 2017 as a technology focused fuels retailing company to meet the growing energy needs of Nigeria.â&#x20AC;?

Corporate Development Lead, Enyo Retail and Supply, Olabanjo Alimi, said: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Velox was conceived out of the need to create a gateway to the Enyo ecosystem of products and services by leveraging a convenient and controlled technological solution. Last year, our pilot scheme which was launched successfully demonstrated the pertinence of this solution and its prospective value to customers.

Velox has proven to be a safe,

simple and convenient way of managing not only oneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s fuel expenses but also purchasing other products and services provided by Enyo fuel stations across Nigeria. It also protects customersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; information and funds from unauthorised access.

This is in addition to customerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s PIN number to deliver an extra layer of protection. The Velox system also allows automatic communication between customerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Velox account and card, the Velox Point of Sale (POS), as well as the dispensing pump for very minimal human intervention in the fueling process, thereby reducing human error and theft.â&#x20AC;?

T H I S D AY ˾ SEPTEMBER 17, 2020

25

BUSINESSWORLD

INTERVIEW

Azzi: Effective Data Storage Will Prevent Breaches Sales Director, Africa, for Western Digital, a global storage company, Mr. Ghassan Azzi, speaks on the importance of data storage for businesses and organisations, as well as the company’s efforts towards transforming data storage in Nigeria. Emma Okonji presents the excerpts:

W

these are the individuals that get excited and keep up with technology trends. The young generation keeps creating content, which makes data thrive and Western Digital provides solutions that ensures that whilst data is thriving in our fast paced world, we provide capabilities for secure and efficient data storage. Data hungry applications fuels demand for capacity which in turn drives the need for reliable, high performance transfer.

This, coupled with the rising mobile market in Nigeria makes our operations key to this region. As a business organisation, our decision to penetrate the Nigerian market was informed by our desire to transform data storage business in Nigeria and at the same time, grow our market share as quickly as possible. We have commenced business through our distribution structure, which we have put in place and we hope to grow the market fast as technology evolves. We believe the Nigerian market is key to our regional and corporations’ future success and growth.

hat is the importance of data to businesses and organisations in today’s world of digital transformation and why is it necessary to secure their data?

Data security is crucial for businesses of all sizes, whether you are a global conglomerate, an enterprise or a small start-up. No business today should overlook implementing security measures as effective data storage measures not only help to avoid data breaches but also shield your business against unnecessary financial costs, loss of public trust and potential threats to brand reputation. Data must be securely stored, backed up and ready for retrieval at any point in time. Any organisation without effective data storage infrastructure and devices is still far from the realities of digital transformation.

Western Digital has different categories of solutions. Could you tell us about these solutions and their roles in managing business sustainability?

We have a range of products to suit all consumers and their business storage needs.

We offer devices like the My Passport SSD, which provides fast transfer of data, reliability and durability. We also offer a range of storage devices to perfectly compliment mobile and tablet devices, such as the iXp and Go and the SanDisk Ultra Dual Drive Luxe. Another category is WD Blue, which is tailored specifically for desktops, laptops, and all-in-one PCs. Also, we have the WD Red, which offers a wide array of solutions for customers looking to build a high performing NAS storage environment. Its endurance and reliability can help increase the efficiency and productivity of your business with an array of features to help preserve your data and maintain optimum performance. The offering includes both HDDs and SSDs, the latter allowing you to boost your NAS system’s performance and responsiveness. Unlike standard SSDs, WD Red NAS SATA SSDs are specifically designed and tested for 24/7 usage. This durability together with efficient caching of big files make these drives ideal for OLTP databases, multi-user environments, photo rendering, 4k and 8k video editing and other demanding applications.

What are the other categories of solution in the offing?

We also have WD Gold, which is specifically designed for use in enterprise-class storage systems and data centers. WD Gold offers a highly reliable solution for demanding storage environments in both SSD and HDD formats. WD Gold SSDs, allow you to add the power of NVMe to your enterprise to improve system responsiveness and boost your business’s productivity while lowering your overall TCO. With the ability to meet your business’s specific needs, the WD Gold range can work alone or perfectly complement other HDDs to handle tough workloads with endurance you can trust. In the gaming range, we have the WD_BLACK, which is about moving from the regular user to an individual that requires storage tailored for gaming. WD_BLACK provides storage capacity and speed, helping ensure the best possible gaming experience. Lastly, we have our smart video range, WD Purple.

This range of devices is designed for storage in environments that operate 24/7, no matter the weather conditions. Either under the rain, sun or normal temperature, our customers are assured that every moment will be captured and saved. Such devices are very important when tackling issues like security and crime as they have the ability to document and store every moment, which could assist relevant authorities with investigations.

You mentioned security as a key factor to business sustainability. What is the best consumer education to address security issues?

How can your solutions add value to Nigerian businesses?

The benefits of our solutions are numerous.

Western Digital is a truly global provider of storage solutions and organisations in Nigeria now have the opportunity to experience the quality and durable products from our company. Solutions from SanDisk and WD available to the Nigerian market will provide organisations with trust-worthy storage and peace of mind.

Azzi

Educating customers is an invaluable way to manage risk and reduce security breaches. The most effective way to educate consumers on the importance of data storage is to explain the potential negative impact of data breaches. At Western Digital, we want our customers to understand what could potentially happen if they do not have the right storage devices ranging from capacity, performance, speed depending on their needs.

Big data companies in the telecoms sector that consume/generate a lot of data need reliable partners that can provide effective solutions to handle and protect their data. What advice will you give such companies in terms of using data to drive their operations?

Companies with huge archive systems, especially telcos, that control vast amounts of data need a solid partner that provides reliable products for data storage. For organizations that rely on big data analytics to drive business decisions, losing even a

Data security is crucial for businesses of all sizes, whether you are a global conglomerate, an enterprise or a small start-up. No business today should overlook implementing security measures as effective data storage measures not only help to avoid data breaches but also shield your business against unnecessary financial costs, loss of public trust and potential threats to brand reputation

portion of their data resources due to system downtime can be a crippling blow to their operations. That is why partnering with a company like Western Digital can help ensure smooth business operations.

Looking at the issue of downtime, which most businesses face and the effects on their business and operational system, how do your solutions address this challenge?

As you know, system downtime can seriously impact a company’s operations, both in the short and long term, hence it makes sense for every organisation to partner with a data storage solutions company capable of delivering excellently. I will like to emphasise the importance of upgrading to a superfast product, which will enhance performance.

Ultimately, most business owners seek business growth and expansion.

Do you offer solutions that boost business expansion?

Expanding businesses translates to expanded data creation. As businesses grow, there is the need to expand their data infrastructure.

It is important to partner with a forward thinking company like ours that will support in the growth of the business.

Aside enterprise solutions, do you have solutions for small businesses and how affordable are they?

As a global data storage company committed to delivering quality data storage solutions for every category of business, either big or small, we are constantly innovating to ensure we are meeting the needs of a range of businesses. In the designing and manufacturing of our solutions, we do not focus only on the enterprise business, but also on small businesses like SMEs who are a significant factor for the rapid economic growth of a nation. What is important to Western Digital is the value add that we bring to any business, through our solutions and considering the value our solutions offer, our products are pocket-friendly.

What makes Nigeria an important market for Western Digital?

With over 200 million inhabitants, Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa with one of the largest populations of youth in the world. Over 40 per cent of the population are young people below the age of 25 and

In today’s world of digital transformation, businesses need speed of operation and reliability in order to serve customers better. How is Western Digital positioned to help organisations achieve this?

The world is fast changing, just as technology is evolving. For organisations that handle data, they need operational speed and reliability to satisfy customers and we are well positioned to help businesses achieve this through our sophisticated storage data solutions that enhances ease of data retrieval and processing at high speed.

Security is key in businesses and governance. How will Western Digital help Nigerian government to address its security challenges and smart city initiative?

We have proven security architecture for surveillance camera that can fit into Nigeria’s vision for smart city initiative, and it can also help in addressing the country’s security challenges. With increased demands placed on safety and security, not just in Nigeria alone, but globally, coupled with new IP and 360-degree camera technologies, video surveillance is expected to grow steadily.

But it isn’t just about security any longer.

Smart video is also about extracting value and intelligence from the content captured.

This could include gaining insights into retail shopper behaviours, managing traffic congestion, or providing more efficient operations and yields. What has changed in video surveillance is not how data is captured, but how it’s used to drive actions, not only to support fast data applications that analyse collected data now, but big data applications ready to analyze data in the future. It is no longer about just storing data, but what we can do with it once captured, that is fueling a new generation of smart video.

We amass and generate large amounts of information from the increasing number of data points captured by such edge devices as surveillance cameras. Applying analytics to real-time captured data is driving new smart video apps whose video streams extract value and intelligence that drive actionable insights. The ability to add local storage to and have enough built in computational power to enable real-time data analytics in the camera itself, will make every edge unit in the surveillance system a smart and independent subsystem.

26

T H I S D AY Ëž ÍŻÍľ, 2020

Banks Urged to Foundation Secures UKâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Funding to Invest More in Risk Support Vulnerable Groups, SMEs Management Solutions Stories by Emma Okonji

The Group Managing Director of FinTrak Software Limited, Mr. Bimbo Abioye, has urged financial institutions, especially banks, to invest in bespoke risk management software solution that is designed to meet the peculiar needs of banks and financial institutions in the country.

According to Abioye, FinTrak Software Limited, has enhanced its Credit Risk 360 Software, an end to end loan underwriting and management system designed for financial risk managers in the country and beyond. â&#x20AC;&#x153;FinTrak Credit Risk 360 solution has demonstrated robust performance and high level of encryption and strengthened with Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) technologies to drive end to end digital lending activities for small ticket loans and also support loan granting decisions on mid ticket transactions whilst providing robust loan monitoring system. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Credit Risk 360 software has been built in line with the global best practice for the financial services sector and also for public sector intervention funds management. The software also has mobile application which can be used on the go to drive quick transaction turn-around time and enhance operational efficiency,â&#x20AC;? Abioye said, and advised banks to invest in robust technology solution.

According to him, FinTrak

Credit Risk 360 was designed to help banks meet the need to identify, measure, monitor and control credit risk as well as to assist FIs to ensure they hold adequate capital against these risks and that they are adequately compensated for the risks incurred. The Credit Risk 360 Solutions is a web-based platform that can be easily accessed from all branches of the bank and also via web browsers anywhere in the world via itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s highly secured mobile applicationâ&#x20AC;?, Bimbo added. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Credit Risk 360 is integrated to two of the three credit bureaus in the country and the third are in the process of integration. This makes feedback from credit bureaus on obligors being underwriting instantaneous and seem less on Credit Risk 360. The platform is also integrated with Central Bankâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s CRMS platform for seemly acquisition of loan booking codes and seem less reporting. With the software, banks are made to comply with the Central Bank of Nigeria credit policies and more importantly regulatory reporting requirements. Bad loans and risk of frauds via automation are significantly mitigated with the software.

Head, Credit Risk 360 Implementation, Fintrak, Christopher Sualeze, said: â&#x20AC;&#x153;We took into consideration the various challenges that the risk managers face in the country while building this software.â&#x20AC;?

CyberSafe Foundation, a nongovernmental organisation in the information security domain has secured funding from the United Kingdom (UK) Governmentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Digital Access Programme.

In addition, CyberSafe Foundation has secured support from KnowBe4 Africa, CyberSecurity Experts Association of Nigeria (CSEAN), and other experts to ensure the program tagged â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Safe Digital Community During COVID-19â&#x20AC;&#x2122; project is achieved.

The foundation has therefore, unveiled plans to equip digitally vulnerable groups and 1,500 Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), with the knowledge and skills required to identify, protect, detect, defend and respond

to COVID-19 instigated cyber threats, that will enable a safe digital community.

Founder/Executive Director, CyberSafe Foundation, Confidence Staveley, who disclosed this recently, said: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Without an iota of doubt, the COVID-19 global pandemic has created an atmosphere of chaos, confusion and fear, a perfect backdrop for malicious actors to carry out a range of attack types. â&#x20AC;&#x153;A particularly vulnerable group is the small and medium size businesses, many of whom do not have technology, people, or processes in place to detect or defend against cyberattacks. This project will provide the muchneeded free up-skilling training for employees of beneficiary SMEs by cybersecurity experts.â&#x20AC;?

Staveley further said the volunteer faculty team consists of highly experienced and exceptional cybersecurity leaders based in Nigeria, United Kingdom, Canada, United Arab Emirates, United States of America, Cayman Islands and South Africa. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Beneficiary SMEs will cut across all parts of Nigeria and business sectors, including underserved communities in the Northern part of the country and Healthcare organizations,â&#x20AC;? she said.

She said; â&#x20AC;&#x153;Learning will be delivered online as a combination of bi-weekly live training sessions and self-paced learning materials consumed via our learning management system. SMEs will register to be part of the free

virtual training which begins 9th October 2020. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Individuals are also targeted by cybercriminals with COVID-19 themed attacks like; relief packages scams, impersonation of trusted organizations; resulting in theft of confidential information and money from unwary victims. â&#x20AC;&#x153;As we continue to work tirelessly to improve cyber safety in Nigeria, especially for the most vulnerable in our society, this program presents a means to reduce the success rate of cyberattacks by raising mass awareness of COVID-19 themed cyber threats. We will leverage entertainment as a vehicle to propagate safe cyber hygiene best practices to millions of people resident in Nigeria,â&#x20AC;? she said.

UnionPay, Interswitch to Accelerate Payment Digitalisation Telcos Urged to Focus on Data, Automated Managed Operations UnionPay International (UPI) and Interswitch have gone into a partnership to enable further payment digitalisation across the continent, allowing cardholders and merchants within the region to transact seamlessly and conveniently across various platforms on the global UPI network.

The partnership confirms Interswitch as a Third-Party Service Provider (TPSP) for UnionPay International in East Africa.

The agreement with Interswitch will facilitate UnionPay card acceptance across ATMs, Points-of-Sale, QR Payments and online payments, thereby consolidating the existing partnership with Interswitch in West Africa and helping to drive wider acceptance on the continent. These initiatives will ultimately enhance the current payment landscape and in turn, improve the lives of the mass markets in Africa.

Country General Manager for Interswitch East Africa, Romana Rajput, said: â&#x20AC;&#x153;UPI and Interswitch East Africa (Kenya) Limited share a mission to provide convenient and secure payment solutions across Africa, and this partnership continues our work to broaden acceptance to cardholders transacting

across the region. We look forward to working with the UPI team and we are excited for the opportunities this new agreement presents.â&#x20AC;?

Interswitch Group Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Mitchell Elegbe, stated that the new licensing agreement reinforced Interswitchâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s focus on achieving broad acceptance. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We are delighted to expand our existing partnership with UPI, this time to East Africa,â&#x20AC;? Elegbe said.

General Manager of UnionPay International Africa Branch, Luping Zhang, said: â&#x20AC;&#x153;The region presents great opportunity following significant transformation in recent years with the rapidly increasing adoption of digital technologies. This new agreement is aligned with our vision to make payments a seamless part of everyday life in Africa, and we look forward to consolidating our relationship with the UPI team. â&#x20AC;&#x153;This is indeed another milestone for Africa. We are committed to promoting high-quality digital payments in Africa. Together with Interswitch, we present a powerful solution allowing African businesses to better integrate into the global marketplace.â&#x20AC;?

Given the importance of 5G and next-generation technologies such as network slicing and internet of things (IoT), that are expected to connect billons of devices, technology experts has advised telecoms operators (telcos) who are managed services providers (MSPs), to focus more on data-driven and automated managed operations in order to rewrite the rules of operations and to remain focused in business.

Head of Managed Services for Ericsson Gulf Countries, Mohamed Elsokkary, who gave the advice in his recent paper presentation titled: From vision to reality: The Journey towards

cognitive and zero touch network operations, said: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) plays a key role in managing new operational complexities, achieving cost efficacy, minimising operational errors and augmenting the human capabilities. As such, we are shifting gears to become more predictable and proactive than ever before by implementing AI and ML.â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;As automation and AI technologies improve, zero-touch networks of the future would soon be able to automatically determine which actions to take with minimal human intervention. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Introduction of

AI cognitive algorithms enable the network to perceive current network conditions â&#x20AC;&#x201C; making it easier to plan, decide and act on those conditions to achieve better outcomes. With cognitive networks based on AI techniques, we are getting closer to realising the zero-touch vision which is set to be a game-changer in the next five years,â&#x20AC;? he said.

According to him, selfadapting, scalable and intelligent agents will work alongside human experts to improve quality and increase the pace of decision-making in many ways, including: automated provisioning, full service and domain-orchestration; automated

fault diagnosis to reduce recovery time; proactive and predictive maintenance to reduce fault risk; automated performance diagnostics for the network; augmented workforce management; automated reporting across all domains and Plug and Play installation and integration.

Furthermore, successful implementation of Self-Optimising Networks (SON) can also be considered as a way to get closer to materialising the zero touch vision. Ericssonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s SON philosophy is based on applying specific SON features where they become most effective in a network topology (Hybrid SON).

Nigeria to Host Global OEMs in Lagos One of the companies in the Zinox Group, TD Africa, is set to host global original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) in the technology sector.

This will be the first time that global tech giants such as Cisco, Dell EMC, HP, Microsoft, Samsung, Philips, Bosch, Schneider Electric and Zinox, among others, are coming together to establish their respective experience centres

under one roof to create a truly immersive and rich experience of latest technologies in action.

The tech experience centre is set for launch on October 1, 2020. It is expected to boost Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s relevance in the global technology race and shore up the countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s march to technology independence.

Nigeria will play host to the latest global technologies including those not normally

available in Africa, offering all classes of visitors a first-hand experience of new gadgets, solutions and infrastructure that would have previously required a visit abroad, thereby saving corporate organisations, government establishments and individuals money or scarce foreign exchange expended on these trips.

The project cited within the Yudala Heights on Idowu

Martins Street, Victoria Island, Lagos, will be inaugurated by the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Isa Pantami.

Also expected to attend the launch are stakeholders from the technology sector, and other dignitaries, not exceeding 50 in line with the current guidelines on public gatherings occasioned by the COVID-19 pandemic.

27

T H I S D AY ˾ THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 17, 2020

BUSINESSWORLD

PERSPECTIVE

Reviving Nigeria’s Refineries

Kolawole Adeniyi

O

n Tuesday, September 15th, some persons allegedly hired by a group took to the streets of Port Harcourt in Rivers State to protest against the state of the country’s refineries.

According to them, the non-functioning of the nation’s four refineries has brought untold hardship to over Nigerians who feed from the refineries and depots, threatening to embark on an industrial action if their demands are not met.

Clearly, these set of persons appear not to have been following events at the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) since its current Group Managing Director, Mr. Mele Kyari assumed office.

Kyari has in a little over a year ago, not hidden his desire to bequeath to Nigerians a corporation that not only serve the purpose it was founded, but one that aligns with international best practice. He has decided to ensure that the country’s hard-earned resources are not just thrown into the refineries without carrying out a proper due diligence.

One of his focus therefore, has been how to ensure that the refineries start functioning once more, even if the country decides to privatise.

Unlike in the past where billions of naira are expended annually on Turn-around Maintenance (TAM) for the ailing refineries, with nothing to show for it, Kyari on assumption of office, decided to shut down the four refineries in Port Harcourt, Warri and Kaduna, assess the state of their health before rehabilitating them.

TAM is a planned partial or full shutdown of one or more units of the refinery for inspection, repair, and maintenance of equipment to ensure safe and efficient operations. It has been alleged to be one of the avenue that the country over the years has been losing huge amount of money, with nothing to show for it.

But that is one thing the Kyari-led NNPC is guarding against. The focus is to make sure that before any TAM is carried out at the refineries, it is one that would ensure that the expected outcome is derived.

It is on record that none of the Group Managing Directors of the NNPC since 1993 has delivered on the promise to rehabilitate the country’s four refineries, despite billions spent on turnaround maintenance contracts.

Kyari For instance, former NNPC’s GMD, Funsho Kupolokun, had once described the country’s refineries as the ‘proverbial bottomless pit’, apparently for gulping so much resources without any commensurate result.

In 2015, on assumption of office as NNPC GMD, Ibe Kachikwu had described the refineries as scraps, saying that about $500 million would be required to fix all of them.

Also, the immediate past GMD of the NNPC, late Maikanti Baru, had said no turnaround maintenance was carried out on the four refineries “for an aggregate of 42 years combined.”

But to show its commitment to the rehabilitation of the refineries, the Kyari-led NNPC had unveiled a timeline of activities which it has been implementing gradually.

For instance, in October last year, a detailed technical inspection of the Port Harcourt Refinery was completed by Technimont SpA (the representative of the Original Refinery Builder).

Also, NETCO and KBR were appointed as Owners Engineer and Project Management Consultants in May 2020 for same refineries and the shortlist of bidders for the procurement and construction (EPC) project was reportly approved in June 2020. In addition, it was gathered that an approval of financing of the project to progress with Afrexim Bank to raise $1billion by NNPC Board of Directors was gotten in July 2020.

In addition, the timeline showed that the pre-qualification of Bidders was to have taken place in August 2020, while

Certificate of No Objection out to have been gotten from the Bureau of Public Procurement for the provision of EPC services to progress to the next phase in August 2020.

According to the timeline, the issuance of invitation to tender to bidders was earlier scheduled for September 14, 2020, the award of EPC to best globally reputable EPC Contractor in December 2020, mobilisation to site in the first quarter of 2021 and pre-commisioning of plant has been scheduled to hold in the first quarter of 2023.

It is however, worthy to note that while the corporation has commenced some of these activities stated in the timeline, the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic has slowed down the plan of the NNPC for the refineries.

The Senate had earlier this year commenced probe into the $396 million expended on TAM of refineries in the country between 2013 and 2015.

Senator Yusuf Yusuf had said, “The country through the NNPC has in the past 25 years, spent billions of US dollars in Turn-Around Maintenance of the refineries, the latest being over $396m spent between 2013 and 2015 without meaningful result.

“The refineries have remained in the moribund state in the last 15-20 years and is almost reaching total collapse due to lack of proposer maintenance of the facilities with a poor average capacity utilization hovering between fifteen percent and twenty-five percent per annum.”

Speaking on the state of the refineries when he took over, Kyari had explained: “First, all the four refineries in three locations are shut down and it was a deliberate decision for two reasons. One is that delivery of crude oil to these refineries is completely challenged because the pipeline network has been completely compromised by vandals and all kinds of people that will not allow us to operate these pipelines.

“That means you are not able to deliver crude oil to these refineries effectively to their maximum capacity. Secondly, what you call rehabilitation is different from the turnaround maintenance. Turnaround is routine which every refinery does but when you talk about rehabilitation, it is that colossal loss of capacity in the refinery and it means you haven’t done the turnaround maintenance properly.

“Typically, every refinery is expected to operate at 90 per cent of its installed capacity. With the best of effort, with all the turnaround maintenance that has taken

place, it is impossible to run any of the refineries before the shutdown at that level.

Our estimate was to run it at 60 per cent of capacity but if you do that, all you are doing is value destruction. You will take $100 crude into the refinery and bring out $70 product. It doesn’t make sense.”

The Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs, NNPC, Mr. Kennie Obateru, had said the maintenance of the refineries would be extended till the end of 2023.

He added that the expectation of the corporation is that by the time the TAM is fully completed, the plants would be able to operate at about 90 per cent.

“The ongoing revamp of the plants is expected to be completed by fourth quarter of 2023. It would ultimately improve the capacity utilisation of the facilities in line with the set roadmap for the rehabilitation to achieve at least 90 per cent capacity utilisation upon completion of the process,” he said.

Beside efforts to revive the ailing refineries, Kyari through his Transparency, Accountability and Performance Excellence (TAPE) agenda, has also been implementing a five-step strategic roadmap for NNPC’s attainment of efficiency and global excellence.

Experts believe that pursuing TAPE is the only way to turn around the corporation and make it competitive.

And true to his words, the NNPC GMD has remained focused on his target, despite efforts by some of his detractors to derail his transformative agenda as was seen in the recent allegation that 48 million barrels of the country’s crude oil was diverted and stolen.

According to Kyari, ensuring energy security is one of the cardinal agenda of the President Muhammadu Buhari administration.

Furthermore, he said closely related to energy security was the rehabilitation and expansion of the local refining capacity.

He said the NNPC has continued to support initiatives towards the actualisation of zero import of refined products by 2024, adding that the corporation has adopted a three-pronged strategy. This includes – revamp, restructure and encourage.

Therefore, the Kyari-led NNPC should be given all the necessary support to ensure that its reforms at the corporation, especially the plan to revamp the refineries come to fruition.

-Adeniyi wrote in from Port Harcourt

T H I S D AY Ëž ÍŻÍľ, 2020

28

Between New APCON Registrar and Pressing Industry Issues The excitement that greeted the recent appointment of a former Executive Secretary of the AAAN, Dr. Lekan Fadolapo, as the Registrar of APCON notwithstanding, the new helmsman is expected to hit the ground running immediately to resolve some pending industry crisis. Raheem Akingbolu reports

F

or the first time in the last six years, the Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s marketing communications landscape heaved a sigh of relief recently when one of them, Dr. Lekan Fadolapo, was appointed to serve as Registrar/Chief Executive Officer of the Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria (APCON).

Until his appointment, Fadolapo a registered advertising practitioner and fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN), was the Executive Secretary of the Association of Advertising Agencies of Nigeria (AAAN).

Perhaps because of the years the industry had been in the limbo, following the seeming federal governmentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s apathy towards constitution of the APCON council and lack of substantive Registrar, Fadolapoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s appointment elicited jubilation among stakeholders, who all described it as a case of putting a round peg in a round hole.

But from THISDAYâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s findings from various industry sources, Fadolapo honeymoon may not be long as stakeholders are expecting him to resolve some pending crisis immediately.

APCON Council and industry reform Leaders of various sectoral bodies, including AAANâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Steve Babaeko, President, Outdoor Advertising Association of Nigeria (OAAN), Emmanuel Ajufo and President, the Experiential Marketers Association of Nigeria (EXMAN), Tade Adekunle, have called on the new CEO of APCON to move in immediately and see to the reconstitution of the APCON council as well as looking into the pending Advertising industry reform.

In an interview with THISDAY, Babaeko, who described Fadolapo as a perfect man for the job commended the Minister of Informa-

Fadolapo

tion, Lai Mohammed and his team, for the appointment.

He, however, tasked the new helmsman on pending industry issues that need urgent attention.

He said: â&#x20AC;&#x153;There is a lot of work on ground as far as the Marcom Industry is concerned, thankfully the new registrar is quite familiar with all the issues from regulatory to practice point of view. I expect quick round table conversations with the Heads of sectoral group with a view to ironing out a few of the existing crises. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Also my expectation is that the old issue of APCON Chairman will be settled without further delay so that the APCON council can resume work and support the new Registrar to do his job optimally. Urgent issues like the implementation of the APCON reform is a

front burner situation today than ever before and we hope we can have a council in place to accelerate the implementation process,â&#x20AC;?

After congratulating the new CEO, on behalf of the Executive, BOT and members of the Outdoor Advertising Association of Nigeria, OAAN President, Emmanuel Ajufo, decried the rudderless state of the advertising industry, citing the prolonged absence of APCON Council as the bane of the sub-sector â&#x20AC;&#x153;I am sure that he would have been overwhelmed by congratulatory messages within and without the Industry by now. This is because we all believe that he is indeed fit and proper to occupy this very exalted position in our Industry. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We are therefore very expectant of the good things that are sure to happen in our Industry. Prior to his appointment, he had been very active in Advertising circles. It is based on this that we expect him to hit the road running,â&#x20AC;? he stated.

While promising the new Registrar of his associationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s support, Ajufo said he wanted Fadolapo to immediately look at two areas that would set the tone of what to expect from his stay at the helm of affairs in APCON. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The first one is that I expect him to galvanise the industry into putting in place an APCON Governing Council that will help him deliver on our expectations. The second area of concern is to fully implement the APCON Corporate licence policy. Before now, he was the Chairman of the corporate licence committee. If he did so well when he was working as a Committee Chairman, I will expect him to do more, now that the bulk stops on his table,â&#x20AC;? he added.

Beyond the council and industry reforms EXMAN President, Tade Adekunle, said with Fadolapoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s wealth of experience, he was not in

doubt that the new Registrar would consolidate on the initiatives of his predecessor, Mrs Iyoha and ensure that APCON is well positioned to better exercise its role in regulating marketing communications in Nigeria. He also appealed to the new registrar to quickly factor in the interest of members of EXMAN. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I hope with the appointment of a Registrar /CEO, the government will now deem it fit to constitute the APCON Council in line with the provision of the law. This will speed up and empower the new Registrar to function appropriately as there are unresolved and pending issues that need council ratification. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Registrar needs the APCON Council to function very well and perform his role satisfactorily. For instance, EXMAN interest is not yet protected because of lack of APCON Council and some other key decisions too affecting the various sectoral bodies,â&#x20AC;?

OAAN, MIPAN and poor payment plan Among other issues, the new APCON boss is expected to quickly wade in and resolve the cold war going on between members of the Outdoor Advertising Association of Nigeria (OAAN), on one hand and Media Independent Practitioners Association of Nigeria (MIPAN) and top multinational companies operating in Nigeria over poor payment plan. According to THISDAY findings, in the last few years, businesses of top players in the marketing communications industry and other vendors working for multinationals are on the decline following rising debt profile of media buying agencies and multinational companies.

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

THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 17, 2020 â&#x20AC;¢ T H I S D AY

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L-R Registrar and CEO, the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria, Mr Seye Awojobi; Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs Zainab Shamsuna Ahmed;; President, the Charterd Institute of Bankers (CIBN) Mr Bayo Olugbemi; and MD CEO, Ecobank Nigeria, Mr Patrick Akinwuntan at the 13th Annual Banking and Finance Conference of the Institute held in Abuja...recently julius atoi

L-R: National President, Nigerian-American Chamber of Commerce (NACC), Otunba Toyin Akomolafe and Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, during a courtesy visit to the Governor, at Lagos House, Alausa, Ikeja,..recently

L-R; Deputy President, Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), Dr. Michael Olawale-Cole; Managing Director, Bureau Veritas, Mr. Ohioze Unuigbe; President, LCCI, Mrs. Toki Mabogunje; Systems CertiďŹ cation Manager, Bureau Veritas, Mrs. Adenike Akinbote and Director General, LCCI, Dr. Muda Yusuf during the oďŹ&#x192;cial presentation of ISO 9001:2015 CertiďŹ cate to the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry by Bureau Veritas in Lagos...recently.

Representative of the Chief of the Army StaďŹ&#x20AC;, Maj.-Gen. Usman Mohammed and Kaduna State Commissioner for Health, Dr Amina Mohammed, during the commissioning and handover of the Physical Rehabilitation Centre Extension of Nigerian Army Rehabilitation Centre, in Kaduna...recently

.L-R: Director, Legal Drafting, National Assembly, Mohammed Hassan; Former Chairman, Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, Dr. Sam Amadi; Executive Director, Centre for Citizens with Disabilities, Mr. David Anyaele and Executive Director, The Qualitative Magazine, Mr. Agbor Chris, during a stakeholders forum on the next level for disability advocacy in Nigeria in Abuja...recently .

ENOCK REUBEN

L-R;Minister of Information and Culture, Alh.Lai Mohammed, Imo State Governor, Senator Hope Uzodinma, Chairman,Watersmith reďŹ nery and petroleum company, AbdulRasaq Isa and General Manager of the reďŹ nery, Abdul Isa during the visit of the Minister to the Modular reďŹ nery Limited in Ibigwe,Ohaji Egbema,Imo State...recently

L-R; Leader of the Federal Government delegation/Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Alhaji Sabo Nanono; Gov. Abubakar Bagudu of Kebbi State and other oďŹ&#x192;cials from federal and state government, during their inspection to farmlands and areas devastated by ďŹ&#x201A;oods in Argugun and Makera in Kebbi State...recently

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L-R:President, Ogun State Customary Court of Appeal, Justice Abiodun Akinyemi, Justice Mobolaji Ojo and Justice Gboyega Ogunfowora, during the oďŹ&#x192;cial presentation of the Customary Court of Appeal Rules to the Bar and the public, at the Conference Hall, High Court premises Isabo, Abeokuta..recently Minister of State for Environment, Sharon Ikeazor (right), and National President of Nigerian Environmental Society (NES), Dr Dorothy Bassey, during the visit of NES delegation to the Minister in Abuja...recently

L-R: Head of Sales, International Breweries Plc (IBPLC), Sylvester Umemezie; Million Naira Prize Winner, Akubue Somuadina; Corporate AďŹ&#x20AC;airs Manager IBPLC, Chuma Umunna; and District Manager IBPLC, Stanley Njoku, at the Million Naira Cheque Presentation from Hero Lager Beerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Rise-Like-A-Hero Promotion held in Onitsha, Anambra State yesterday

L-R;Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Malam Garba Shehu; CNB Governor, Mr Godwin EmďŹ ele and Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mr Boss Mustapha during a virtual meeting of the Presidential Economic Advisory Council at the Presidential Villa in Abuka...recently

L R: Special Assistant, Zamfara State Liason Services, Surajo Habibu; Director General, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria(SMEDAN), Dr. Dikko Umaru Radda; Commissioner of Finance, Zamfara State, Rabiu Garba and Deputy Chief of StaďŹ&#x20AC; to the Governor, Bashir Maru, during a visit by delegations from Zamfara state to SMEDAN Headquarters in Abuja...recently. Photo KINGSLEY ADEBOYE L-R; Speaker, Plateau State House of Assembly, Abok Ayuba; Deputy Governor of Plateau, Prof. Sonni Tyoden; and Governur. Simon Lalong, during the inauguration of Enrolment of the Plateau Contributory Health Care Management Agency for the State Social Health Insurance Scheme, in Jos...recently

L-R; Senator Aliyu Wamakko; President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan; and Governor of Yobe State, Alhaji Mai Mala Buni, oďŹ&#x20AC;ering prayers during a condolence visit to the Wamakko family over the death of the lawmakerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s daughter in Sokoto...recently

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo SAN attends ECOWAS Extraordinary Summit on the situation in Mali on behalf of President Buhari in Accra, Ghana...recently

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T H I S D AY ˾ SEPTEMBER 17, 2020

HEALTH & LIFESTYLE

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

Bill Gates: Nigeria Should Invest in PHC, Disease Surveillance, Immunisation Bill Gates is the co-Founder, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the driver of the Goalkeepers Report, an initiative that tracks yearly progress made on Sustainable Development Goals across the globe. In this exclusive interview with Martins Ifijeh, he spoke on the need for Nigeria to invest in Primary Health Care, disease surveillance, and expansion of internet access for e-learning among children unable to get classroom education due to the COVID-19 pandemic.Among other sundry issues, he also spoke on the need for Nigeria to continue campaigns on immunisation against wild polio virus, emphasising that relapse on bvaccination could result in resurgence of the virus in the country. Excerpts:

E

very year, the Goalkeeper’s Report celebrates global progresses made against poverty and diseases, but appears this is not the case for 2020, especially in low and middle income countries like Nigeria where indices for poverty and diseases are worse off. What should Nigeria do to mitigate the impact COVID-19 is having on these important two areas?

It is true that the 2020 Goalkeepers Report is a less optimistic report than in a typical year-by-year report where progresses are made on things like literacy and child survival.

Although these progresses are gradual, they are often very important. We get to highlight the countries that are doing the best, so that other countries can adopt those practices and make their own progresses.

Here, we felt it was super important to highlight, not only the direct impacts of COVID-19 in terms of the deaths, but also the indirect effects, including on the health systems, such that progresses made in areas like vaccination rates started going down. Sadly, we will see far more deaths from the disruption to the health system in Africa for other diseases, than we will see for COVID-19 directly.

Exact policies on things like vaccination will have to be set by countries, and even in some cases regions within countries, as this will help put vaccination services back into place so that even the kids that are missed will get some of those vaccines.

The COVID-19 pandemic is forcing governments to make tradeoffs. This is a good reason for every country to make case for its primary healthcare and prioritise spending there. It’s also a time to make sure the spending is going to health workers doing the job. People say it is politically hard to get rid of waste, but the COVID-19 pandemic may provide people the strength to say ‘no, let’s focus on the funds on health workers doing the job; let’s focus on the location where these services are being provided; and let’s make sure all the monies are focused on health at this critical time.

Many countries are going into recession due to the catastrophic impact of COVID-19. What long-term measures should countries like Nigeria adopt if they must meet sustainable development goal by 2030?

Well, sadly, the world was not ready for this pandemic, and so the speed at which we were able to do the testing and come up with drugs and vaccines is much slower than it would have been had we invested in that preparation. Many of those preparations could have been done at a global level so that countries like Nigeria does not need to invent new vaccine platforms which should be funded by rich countries and then provide capacity to the entire world.

Nigeria should have good disease surveillance and understanding on how to get testing capacity ramped up, in case another pandemic comes along. The good news for Nigeria is that basic investment in the primary healthcare system is ongoing. That is there are locations where mothers can take their kids to for vaccination, and money is being targeted on primary healthcare, and many African countries have

Gates

Is achieving the SDGs by 2030 still feasible?

Well, the SDGs have a lot of different targets.

Our foundation was involved in making sure that the health targets, like the child mortality, neonatal mortality, maternal mortality, were set at a realistic level, although they were set before the pandemic.

So even if there is s a challenge over the next two years due to the pandemic, countries

like Nigeria must put health services back in shape particularly in the North where over 10 per cent or in some cases 15 per cent of children die before they clock five years. This really shouldn’t be the case if investment in primary healthcare is modest enough. This should not be like funding for hospitals where the funding is small and the impact is very high. If we renew commitment to primary healthcare the right way, we will be able to see dramatic improvements, particularly in Nigeria, even if we fall short of the specific SDG goal.

Nigeria must put health services back in shape, particularly in the North where about 10 to 15 percent of children die before they clock five years. This really shouldn’t be the case if investment in primary healthcare is modest enough …

The country needs to continue campaigns for immunisation against vaccine-derived polio, and the wild polio virus which is still present in Pakistan and Afghanistan

Through the support of your organisation, Nigeria has been able to defeat polio. Do you fear for a relapse should government slow down on interventions, on immunisations and other measures against the virus?

It is a huge achievement that Nigeria got rid of wild polo virus. It required amazing work.

In all the states, health workers went out to deliver vaccines. You know, Aliko Dangote was a huge help to our Foundation, and was very generous in making that happen, just like he is doing with the Coalition against COVID-19 (CACOVID), but you are right that we are not done yet. We have a form of the virus called the vaccine derived polio that is in Nigeria and other African countries. We have to do campaigns against that, and we have to make sure that the wild polio virus still existing in two other countries - Pakistan and Afghanistan – does not find its way back into Nigeria. Nigeria needs to make sure it has enough immunisations so that should it find its way into the country, it won’t spread very quickly.

So, we will, for some years to come, have to keep doing these campaigns; targeting both the vaccine-derived and this wild polio type 1 that is still in those two countries. State governors

only managed to achieve this.

really need to think about primary healthcare and polio activities. These are key parts of the priorities.

Countries are going digital for school learning due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

But for a place like Nigeria, where internet access is limited, and with over 10 million children already out of school even before the start of the pandemic, what other options do we have to ensure children are kept in school despite the COVID-19 situation?

Well, the educational interruption is tragic all over the world, and it will be very hard to catch up on that. For children up to 10 to 12 years, e-learning may not work so well, so classroom learning is still desirable. Even for the kids who are older than that, without internet with high quality connection on a large screen, they are still disadvantaged. Phone screen doesn’t work for a lot of e-learning.

So, in Nigeria, the availability of internet connections for the number of kids who have that type of compactible device is small. Even if we get the content right, which we need to do, and even if we train teachers, which we need to do, the portion of the students that can be reached with e-learning is still pretty small in Nigeria. So Nigeria needs to expand internet access to cover I do believe in e-learning. I think it’s very important. It should expand, but mostly we need to end this pandemic through the use of the vaccine so that we can mostly go back to normal school activities, and simply where e-learning is an extra complement for some of the courses, where you can access a teacher who might have expertise that the local teachers do not have.

T H I S D AY ˾ SEPTEMBER 17, 2020

33

NEWS

Martins Ifijeh

UNAIDS Warns Nigeria, Others against Rights Abuses amidst COVID-19

The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) has warned Nigeria and other member countries against human rights violations against vulnerable and marginalised people during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In a statement made available to THISDAY recently, the UN body said during the early response to COVID-19, it received

numerous reports of interruptions to HIV services and disturbing human violations against vulnerable and marginalised people, and that the experience of the response to HIV has proved that such violations during a pandemic undermine trust, harm individuals, and set back public health responses.

According to the Executive Director, UNAIDS, Winnie Byanyima it was a myth that

there can be trade-off between human rights and public health, adding that human rights were not only intrinsic, but also the very means by which governments can successfully beat a pandemic. Byanyima said UNAIDS commissioned a report on how COVID-19 public health orders and restrictions on movement have impacted the response to HIV and human rights. “The findings are reflective of trends

across the world and uncovered significant breaches of human rights, life-threatening disruptions to health and social services, violence, abuse and discriminatory targeting of marginalised, poor and key populations. “This report is designed to help governments take positive steps to respond to human rights concerns in the evolving context of COVID-19,” the ED said.

UNAIDS said the violations

have included instances of police using rubber bullets, tear gas, and whips to enforce physical distancing, people being arrested and detained for not wearing masks and being issued fines—people who could not pay fines remained in jail longer than those who could pay, doctors were arrested and detained for travelling to and from health facilities, pregnant women dying after strict restrictions on move-

ment, among others.

It therefore recommended several actions, including proactive measures to ensure vulnerable people can access HIV treatment and prevention services, designating and supporting essential workers, including community-led organisations, and implementing measures to prevent and address gender-based violence, among others.

BOF-PSNCallsforPolicy FrameworkforDrug Development Rebecca Ejifoma The Board of Fellows (BOF), Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN) has recommended a policy framework that will ensure development of drugs and health security are put in place in Nigeria. This is even as the board is set to hold a virtual public lecture on Saturday September 19. Speaking during its mid-year meeting in Lagos recently, the Chairperson, BOF-PSN, Prof.

Mbang Femi-Oyewo noted that the lecture will be addressing the need for policy framework for drugs and health security, among others via zoom.

“PSN plays vital role in the economy building of the nation.

The pharmaceutical industry and indeed pharmacists contribute to the country’s revenue through their products and services to the entire healthcare,” she said.

On drugs and researches, the chairperson stressed on the need for the federal government to pass the pharmacy bill and provide adequate funding for research development and boosts local drug production. “I hope with COVID-19 experience we have learnt a lot. We need to put

ourselves together in empowering the pharmacists as well as support development of research centres nationwide,” she said.

At the public lecture, topics to be addressed include, ‘Do we have a policy framework for national development in Nigeria?’, ‘How solid is the policy Framework?’, and ‘What policy framework must we put in place for national development amidst current global challenge in the future?’ among others.

Others are, ‘Do we have a policy Framework for National Development in Nigeria?’, ‘How will the policy Framework ensure security in all sectors of National development in Nigeria such as economy, drugs/health, food and business - security?’

While the PSN is intensifying its efforts to address the effects of drugs, the chairperson noted that the BOF still has a project campaign against drugs/ substance abuse.

The Chairman, BOF PSN 2020 mid-year meeting, Pharmacist Lekan Asuni, commended the Lagos State Government for taking responsibility and leading in the management of COVID-19 in the country.

COVID-19: NNPC/Chevron JV Donates PCR Lab to Warri Central Hospital Sylvester Idowu iØ ËÜÜÓ Chevron Nigeria Limited and Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC)/ Joint Venture has donated a Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) laboratory facility to Warri Central Hospital to support the fight against COVID-19 in Delta State.

The provision of the stateof-the-art molecular laboratory testing centre with a brand new PCR machine brings COVID-19 testing centres to two in the state.

Also donated to the new centre at Warri Central Hospital were test kits, medical consumables, five air conditioners, refrigerators and a 50-KVA soundproof generating set as well as the renovation of the four-bedroom laboratory building.

Speaking at the handing over ceremony recently, the General Manager, Policy, Government and Public Affairs of CNL, Mr Esimaje Brikinn said the gesture was a part of the overall contributions of CNL to the fight against the pandemic.

He added that the donation would ensure early detection of

COVID-19 cases for isolation and treatment in Warri and environs.

“The aim is to support the government in the fight against the spread of COVID-19 in Delta by enhancing early detection of cases for isolation and treatment within Warri and environs.

“This is why we’re fully involved in the NNPC-led initiative to provide both tactical and strategic support to the coordinated efforts of government in the fight against COVID-19 in our country by halting its spread,” he noted.

Brikinn, who was represented

by Area Manager, PGPA Field Operations, Warri, Sam Daibo lauded the leadership of the Delta State government in the coordination of the oil and gas sector’s response in the containment of the virus in the state.

The Director of Health Services/CEO Delta State Hospital Management Board and representative of the Delta State Commissioner for Health, Dr Mrs F. E. Omoraka, lauded NNPC/ Chevron JV for adding another molecular laboratory testing lab to the one in Asaba.

L-R: Minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire; and Head, International Committee of the Red Cross in Nigeria, Eloi Fillion, during a visit to the Federal Ministry of Health secretariat in Abuja recently

PCN Seals 439 Drug Shops in Akwa Ibom for Illegal Activities Okon Bassey ÓØ ãÙ The Pharmacists Council of Nigeria (PCN) has sealed 439 drug shops in Akwa Ibom State for various offences including dispensing unethical products, poor storage and sanitary conditions.

The Registrar of PCN, Pharm. Elijah Mohammed who disclosed this at a press briefing held in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State capital weekend; said a total of 42 Pharmacies and 397 Patent Medicine Shops

were affected in the exercise.

Also, he pointed out that some of the pharmacies and patent medicine shops in the state operate without registration with the PCN, failed to renew premises license, and sold medicines outside the approved list.

Mohammed who was represented by the Director Enforcement of the PCN, Stephen Esumobi made known that the enforcement exercise took place in 13 out of 31 local government areas in the state.

However, he indicated that nine Pharmacies and Patent Medicine Shops were issued compliance directives at the end of a week enforcement exercise in the state.

He stressed that proliferation of illegal medicine shops had became worse since the lock down due to the Covid-19 pandemic. “In order to address this challenge, the PCN has stepped up enforcement activities across the country and its enforcement team has visited various states of the

Federation.

“The aim of the enforcement exercise is to ensure that all premises where medicines are sold are registered, having fulfilled condition with respect to location, storage facilities, environment, documentation and personnel.

“One of the identified weaknesses in the drug distribution chain is the proliferation of illegal medicine shops which has become worse since the lock down necessitated by the Covid-19 pandemic.” he stated.

Experts Caution FG against Accepting Imported Vaccines Rebecca Ejifoma Following the rounding up phase of vaccine manufacturing by some western countries, a group of experts have cautioned the Nigerian government against accepting imported vials from abroad.

The group, called the Association of Professional Bodies of Nigeria (APBN), which made this known during its 8th board meeting in Lagos recently, said vaccine development was a scientific process and must be evidence-based.

The President of APBN, Olumuyiwa Ajibola said: “We should not rush at vaccines since we have testing facilities. We should ascertain the veracity

of vaccines that come into the country.”

He said the board meeting was to strategise on workable solutions to push the country forward amid the persisting COVID-19 pandemic and socio-economic services, among others.

“All ideas garnered from the various professional bodies would be harnessed to support progresses in governance, including, policies of the government and the development of various professions in the private sector,” he added.

The group has also said it was pushing for insurance for frontline personnel, as its members cut across medical

doctors, pharmacists, laboratory practitioners among others The APBN also addressed the issue of the service sector comprising the professionals who would neither be getting jobs nor getting paid during that time of the COVID-19 lockdown. Ajibola enjoined the government to reach out to the people with palliatives so as to preserve small businesses.

He added: “The issue of development of the country should not be put at a halt because of the pandemic.

Rather, while people are obeying the protocols, they should be encouraged to continue their businesses as practicably as possible.”

The President, Pharmaceuti-

cal Society of Nigeria (PSN) Pharm. Sam Ohuabunwa, said: “APBN is challenging health professionals to help the people of Nigeria and find a cure for COVID-19. APBN will play an advisory role to government in order to get Nigerians out of this economic crisis.”

The Treasurer of PSN, Pharm.

Mrs. Adefolake Adeniyi said the government should look inwards in the health sector.

Adeniyi listed: “A lot of money has to be put in the education and health sector.

It is only a healthy mind that can do a lot of things.

We implore the government to put more into the health sector to avoid the brain drain of health professionals.”

34

T H I S D AY ˾ SEPTEMBER 17, 2020

HEALTH

BHCPF and the Defunding of NCDC during a Pandemic President Muhammadu Buhari’s signature health programme, the Basic Health Care Provisions Fund may soon become the joke of the century with the recent removal of the 2.5 per cent allotted to the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, an agency at the centre of fighting a pandemic for the country. Martins Ifijeh writes

Cross section of stakeholders at the launch of BHCPF in 2018

C

all Basic Health Care Provisions Fund (BHCPF) Nigeria’s star programme for the health sector and human capital development and you will be right. It is one model with the capacity to secure health access for millions of vulnerable Nigerians who otherwise are being deprived of healthcare, including disease prevention and management.

Its launch in 2018 signaled the beginning of a new dawn for the country, especially with the Executive and National Assembly both agreeing to fully implementing the 2014 National Health Act (NHA) which devoted one per cent of the Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF) of the nation’s budget to the initiative – a move that saw the earmarking of N57.17 billion to the fund in 2018.

What BHCPF means To be clear, the BHCPF is an additional fund outside the health sector allocation in the national annual budget dedicated to address basic healthcare needs of Nigerians.

Since its launch, the federal government has been allotting at least N55 billion for its execution yearly, especially in areas of primary healthcare strengthening and service delivery. It has also mobilised additional resources from the government of Nigeria and development partners to improve the delivery of essential basic health services to Nigerians.

Initial guide for disbursement To ensure the fund reaches all areas of concern, the federal government and its partners developed an expansive guideline for its distribution with focus on primary healthcare, health insurance, disease prevention, emergency medicine, health personnel, among others.

On specifics, the fund was billed to be shared among three key areas: The National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) which was earmarked to take ownership of 50 per cent of the funds; National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), which is to take ownership of 45 per cent of the fund; and then the Emergency Medical Treatment (EMT), which has been allotted to take ownership of the remaining five per cent of the fund.

Of the five per cent allocated to EMT, 2.5 per cent was allotted to the Department of Hospital Services (DHS), while the remaining 2.5 per cent was allocated to the NCDC, specifically, for public health emergency preparedness and response.

At the second THISDAY Healthcare Financing Summit held in Abuja in 2018, the then Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole, under whose leadership the BHCPF was nursed and kick started, said the detailed blueprint of the health programme up to disbursement and execution phase, has drawn many international bodies and nations into aligning with the star initiative, with the World Bank, Aliko Dangote Foundation, among others donating funds to supporting government’s CRF earmarked for the programme.

Sudden defunding of NCDC through BHCPF But it appears the otherwise laudable initiative; - one that the present government will be easily remembered for if properly managed – may begin to give room for concern, especially with the distortion of the blueprint and the obvious removal of the 2.5 per cent of the fund for disease preven-

This is a bad time to defund public health emergencies.

The action by the review committee could amount to threat to national health security and lives of Nigerians who are daily being guided by the NCDC out of the COVID-19 pandemic that has killed almost 1,100 persons in the country

tion, surveillance and management. A document seen by THISDAY recently, tagged “Guideline for the Administration, Disbursement and Monitoring of the Basic Healthcare Provision Fund” has shown that in the 2020 revised disbursement arrangement, the part allocated to the NCDC despite being in the middle of a pandemic, has been yanked off with the fund now shared to other areas.

Defunding; Threat to National Health Security Sharing her thoughts with THISDAY, a public health expert, Chioma NwakanmaAkanno said this was a bad time to defund public health emergencies, as the action by the review committee could amount to threat to national health security and Nigerians who are daily being guided by the NCDC out of the COVID-19 pandemic that has killed almost 1,100 persons in Nigeria since the outbreak in February She said: “In 2017 alone, four major diseases outbreaks resulted in over 40,000 cases and around 1,000 deaths in Nigeria. Guess who these outbreaks affect the most? the grass root. So why would the government defund public health emergencies. It is confusing that this 2.5 per cent BHCPF is part of the NHA 2014.

She believed cutting funds to NCDC couldn’t come at a worse time, adding that Nigeria’s health, social and economic systems face unprecedented pressure from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The health communicator said the funding of public health emergency preparedness and response through the BHCPF provides consistent and reliable funding to strengthen and increase ownership of health security at the national and state levels, as well as ensures Nigeria was better prepared for public health emergencies.

She added: “NCDC forms a core part of emergencies and should not be excluded completely. Funds can be targeted to strengthening emergency preparedness and response at the PHC levels to enhance service delivery in an epidemic. The funding should reflect the coverage of all Nigerians. Disburse the funds. It might look good on paper, but if not implemented it is useless. Nigerians deserve accountability and a right to live.”

Brooding for War While the committee which revised the 2018 guideline of the BHCPF appear not to know the importance of public health emergencies and health security to a nation, there appears the Federal Ministry of Health which approved the new guideline is stocking for war with stakeholders and health bodies expressing their concerns over government’s volte face for disease prevention and surveillance under the BHCPF, despite the nation experiencing its biggest disease threat since the history of the country.

According to the Health Sector Reforms Coalition (HSRC), the rationale for the review of the guideline was unclear as no reference was made to flaws from the 2018 guideline.

It also wondered why disease prevention and surveillance was defunded in the BHCPF. In a statement to air its position, HSRC said: “The 2018 version of the BHCPF guidelines allotted a specific proportion of the Emergency Gateway Funds for the NCDC and this provision is captured in the law that set up the agency.

However, NCDC was not recognised as a recipient of the Emergency Pathway in the 2020 version of the guidelines.

Legal Implication for Defunding NCDC from BHCPF According to the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention Act 2018 seen by THISDAY, part v (financial provisions) says the Centre shall establish and maintain a fund from which shall be defrayed all expenditure incurred by the Centre for the purpose of the Act. Directly, part v, section ‘g’ of the Act says that 2.5 per cent of the five per cent of the BHCPF under section 11 (1) of the NHA 2014 shall be one of the extra budgetary allocation accrued to the Centre. HSRC said the defunding of disease prevention and surveillance in the BHCPF has a legal implication and it can only stand if the law that set up NCDC is amended to take out the clause that allocates BHCPF to the agency.

Will the Minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire allow the federal government’s signature health programme go the way of other government otherwise initiatives that started well and ended in shambles because of bizarre distortions? Time will tell.

35

T H I S D AY Ëž SEPTEMBER 17, 2020

HEALTH

NIPRDâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Adigwe: Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Unsung Hero against COVID-19 From becoming the first African institute to develop phytomedicine from drug discovery up to phase two clinical trials, to championing African Traditional Medicine analysis that underpinned Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s position on the Madagascar COVID-19 cure, up to the several researches done against coronavirus, Dr. Obi Adigweâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s NIPRD has continued to work behind the scene to defeat the virus in Nigeria. Martins Ifijeh writes

I

f there is one agency of the Nigerian government that can easily adorn the robe of grey-eminence in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic in the country, it is the National Institute for Pharmaceutical Research and Development (NIPRD) because of its penchant to work behind the scene.

A once moribund organisation that has over the years been wished away as a C-class agency and left to exist all by itself, has \ crawled into a first class organisation playing a prominent role in the management of the COVID-19 pandemic, with several results of its researches and development forming the basis for government decisions and the seeming success presently attained towards defeating the coronavirus.

Its Director General, Dr. Obi Adigwe, upon assumption of office brought to bear his wealth of experience in the pharmaceutical industry and gradually began to put the institute in a place of relevance hence contributing to both national and global COVID-19 response with a significant proportion of the contribution focused on African Traditional Medicines; an effort that provided the internationally acclaimed analysis that underpinned governmentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s categorical position on the Madagascar COVID-19 Organics preparation.

That analysis went viral internationally, with scientists and policymakers around the world referencing NIPRDâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s seminal work on the product, hence saving a multitude of lives on the continent while Nigeria and the African continent conserved millions of dollars that would otherwise have been expended on an unverified product.

NIPRD for the first time in Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s history constituted an interdisciplinary team of over 20 eminent and erudite professors drawn from various universities and geopolitical regions to form the National Scientific Advisory Committee (NSAC) on the verification of claims by TMP. Dr Adigwe who convened the NSAC argues

Adigwe

that the landmark achievement not only ensures that coronavirus cure claims were subjected to the highest international science, it also ensures that the highest relevant standards of safety and efficacy were maintained in order to safeguard the lives of Nigerians.

The institute has also leveraged on its reputation as the first African institute to develop a world class phytomedicine from drug discovery up to phase two clinical trials, to begin work on repurposing Niprimune, its flagship immunomodulatory agent for relevant clinical studies for COVID-19. Earlier in the year at the onset of the pandemic, NIPRD pioneered and strongly advocated indigenous manufacturing of hand sanitisers from locally

sourced raw materials.

The institute conceptually produced its own brand of hand sanitisers and has also been involved as sponsor and technical partner to a number of ongoing randomised control trials aimed at scientifically proving the efficacy of a number of conventional medicines.

Adigwe attributes these accomplishments at NIPRD to a number of factors; however he singles out the improved capacity of his already considerably well-resourced faculty as a key success factor. Within 18 months of his appointment, he galvanized the instituteâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s workforce to a world class team using a combination of various strategies.

For instance, from less than 10 percent prior to

his appointment, today every single confirmed NIPRD staff has now received laptops and tablets to optimise their deliveries. Similarly, a year on year analysis before and after he was appointed indicated that there has also been a tenfold increase in local and foreign trainings for researchers and non-technical staff. This has no doubt significantly impacted on the quality of the instituteâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s work and consequently improved access to relevant health and socioeconomic variables. For instance during this pandemic, NIPRD retained its ISO 17025 certification through remote testing, making it the first in the region to accomplish this via the model.

NIPRD has also commenced its nationwide training and capacity building of Traditional Medicines Practitioners with activities being decentralized to states and rural areas.

In less than two years of his appointed, Dr. Adigwe has rekindled NIPRDâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s recognition as a world class leader by its increased representation on high level committees such as convened by pertinent organisations such as World Health Organisation, TETFund, Central Bank of Nigeria, COVID-19 Presidential Task Force, National Security Advisory Committee and many others.

In his characteristically selfless style, he nominates his able lieutenants to represent on these bodies in a bid to build their capacities as well as to foster a robust and comprehensive representation in wide ranging relevant fora.

Despite these laudable advances, he has bemoaned a lack of investment, funding and prioritisation with respect to research and development pertaining to ATM, and consequently urged the involvement of philanthropists, foundations, development partners and other private sector actors.

Whenever the history of COVID-19 will be written in Nigeria, Adigwe and his â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;grey-eminenceâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; agency, NIPRD will be conspicuously mentioned. They are unsung heroes working behind the scene to keep Nigerians safe.

Health Financing through Sports Betting Revenue in Nigeria Olumide Okunola Nigeria like several other countries on the continent have been hit hard by the COVID19 pandemic but there was already in existence an ongoing epidemic prior to this period with significant public health implications â&#x20AC;&#x201C;Gambling.

The negative consequences of gambling captured as â&#x20AC;&#x153;Gambling Related Harm (GRH)â&#x20AC;? is driven by the meteoric rise in online gambling opportunities and as such presents one of the most consequential tasks post-COVID-19 for policy makers I posit that revenues from gambling more broadly can serve dual policy objectives not only as a source of revenue but also as a deterrent. Such revenues need to be categorised in the same bracket as other well-known health â&#x20AC;&#x153;badsâ&#x20AC;? such as alcohol, tobacco and sugary beverages with a potential to be earmarked as additional financing for healthcare in Nigeria. Gambling revenues are already widely accepted as financing for sports in several countries.

Nigeria has identified Universal Health Coverage (UHC) as the goal of its health system and in this regard the country has a limited ability to raise public financing for health which is a sine qua non for countries moving towards UHC. Thus, for Nigeria to make progress in its UHC aspirations it must expedite action on strategies to increase the share of total health spending coming from public financing. Nigeria has one of the lowest public financing for health globally spending 0.5 per cent (2017) of its GDP in public health spending.

This is lower than both the regional average (2.4 per cent) and the average for its income group (2.8 per cent). The effect of COVID19 on the economy might worsen this situation.

In the period prior to the COVID-19 pandemic the combination of increase in mobile phone penetration, internet access, online payment options and liberalization of regulations on advertising

led to a profound proliferation of gambling in Nigeria. This was marked by a shift from the traditional forms of gambling like pools, casino gambling and national lotteries to new modes like sports betting and online betting amongst other forms. Whilst the gambling industry would have suffered losses brought on by the COVID19 pandemic it is predicted that as part of rebuilding efforts the gambling industry will make an even greater push to online outlets thus increasing the availability of gambling options to pundits.

The level of participation in the gambling industry in Nigeria portends the size of the emerging problem. A study of the Nigerian general population found that 36 per cent of adult respondents had gambled of which 53 per cent are daily gamblers. Another study indicates that well over 70 per cent of Nigerian youths now indulge in gambling as a form of entertainment. These high numbers should not be surprising with the level of aggressive, unfettered advertisements and promotions undertaken by the betting companies.

The mega sponsorship deals by betting companies in Big Brother Naija in 2019 (BETNAIJA) and 2020 (BETWAY) attests to this.

The gambling industry argues that its products are simply another form of entertainment, like going to movies and football games and as such consumers are willing to pay a price for entertainment. We think otherwise and the rising cases of GRH justify this position. GRH exists in different forms and affects the whole of society beyond just individuals. GRH causes financial harm, relationship disruption, emotional or psychological distress; decrements to health; reduced performance at work or study. The list is endless but important to point out that the concept of GRH is much encompassing and goes well beyond the issue of â&#x20AC;&#x153;problem gamblingâ&#x20AC;? which is the best-known negative consequence of gambling.

The humongous revenues generated by sports betting companies reflect the increasing participation of Nigerians in gambling. The habit comes at a cost as it is estimated that 60 million Nigerians between 18 and 40 years of age may be spending up to N1.8 billion on sports betting daily at an average N3,000 (nearly $15). Proportionately, nearly N2 billion is laid out on sports betting in Nigeria every day, which turns into nearly N730 billion for a year.

We are describing a $2billion industry! Data from 2016 shows the top ranked betting company(s) in Nigeria rake in an average monthly turnover of $10m whilst other mid-ranked companies turn in an average turnover of $3m-$5m with a 20-30 per cent margin on profit. A report by PWC in 2018 revealed Nigeria as the second largest online gambling market in Africa with a Gross Gaming Revenue (GGR) of $58 million noting that the GGR will rise by 16 per cent over a five-year period.

It is important to note that the revenue raised by the gambling industry has successfully tapped into a demographic that has traditionally escaped the best efforts of governments to raise revenue.

Sixty per cent of the Nigerian economy is in the informal sector and this is where most pundits lie.

Not surprising given the level of technology and innovation that drives the gambling industry. It is argued that taxes from gambling are regressive that is â&#x20AC;&#x201C; the poor are worse off.

This article has emphasised the role of public financing in the achievement of Universal Health Coverage (UHC) and efforts to enhance domestic revenue utilisation mobilisation (DRuM) as key to closing UHC financing gaps.

The revenues from gambling as a â&#x20AC;&#x153;demeritâ&#x20AC;? good will be important to Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s DRuM efforts within the context of UHC. This article acknowledges the innovative efforts of the gambling industry in building an industry from a mostly informal economy but

also warns of the perils of the rising prevalence of GRH that is the consequence of such an effort.

In concluding we propose the following options for Nigeria as it ponders on the much-needed reform of its gambling tax policy.

1. There is a need to update the legislative framework governing gambling activities in Nigeria. Such legislation should protect vulnerable citizens from the perils of GRH. Gambling operators should be made to advertise and market in a responsible manner.

2. The rise of GRH suggests that gambling is a â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;demeritâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; good to be discouraged in the interests of a wholesome society and thus efforts aimed at levying appropriate tax rates for such an activity may improve social welfare by reducing gambling activity.

3. Regulatory bodies should prescribe obligations for operators to connect to online surveillance system of competent authorities like the FIRS or CBN to ensure that real time relevant data including fiscal information is obtained. 4. The National lottery trust fund (NLTF) established under section 35 of the National Lottery Act specifies the achievement of national development goals through the promotion of access to lottery funding for good causes but the non-transparent distribution of funds by the NLTF makes the case for a more explicit criteria through sectoral earmarks urgent.

It makes sense that the economic resources generated from gambling taxes be earmarked for desirable social purposes like financing healthcare in Nigeria as an additional but earmarked source of revenue. The Basic Healthcare Provision Fund (BHCPF) of the 2014 National Health Act provides a vehicle to implement this. t0LVOPMB JT B 4FOJPS )FBMUI 4QFDJBMJTU XJUI UIF 8PSME #BOL /JHFSJB PPLVOPMB! JGD PSH

36

T H I S D AY Ëž ÍŻÍľË&#x153; 2020

BUSINESS/MONEYGUIDE

Survey: With COVID-19, HR Role Requires Reinvention Maduabuchi Ubani Four in 10 employees will continue to work remotely, findings from a survey by KPMG Nigeria has revealed.

According to the survey, a third of employees now require re-skilling or up-skilling to adjust to the new normal, while twothird of human resources (HR) executives believe their function must be reinvented.

It further anticipated that majority of organisations would see their workforces change â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;shapeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; dramatically over the next two years, according to the nearly 1,300 HR executives who took part in the KPMG 2020 HR Pulse Survey in July/August.

To deal with the changes, more than two thirds of HR executives (69%) believe the HR function needs to completely reinvent and transform itself to respond more

effectively. â&#x20AC;&#x153;HR must swiftly transition from putting out the fires of the immediate impact of COVID-19 and its aftermath and switch to playing the long game of shaping the workforce of the future for their enterprises. â&#x20AC;&#x153;But this switch requires new mindsets, skills and priorities,â&#x20AC;?

Head of Global People and Change Center of Excellence, KPMG International, Robert Bolton said.

The survey further stated that lasting impacts, including the fact that nearly 40 per cent of employees would continue to work remotely and perhaps others in a hybrid model of attendance, means that a new reality has to be contended with. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The pandemic has presented HR with a significant opportunity to transform not just the function, but the enterprise itself,â&#x20AC;? it added.

The survey revealed that more than three in 10 employees (35%) would need to be reskilled in the next two years.

Tellingly, talent risk is also top of mind for CEOs, rising eleven places as the largest threat to businesses according to the recently released KPMG 2020 CEO Outlook.

Continuing, the study findings showed that the priorities of the HR function reflect the enormous effects of COVID-19.

It listed the top-ranked initiatives to include ) taking steps to safeguard the experience and well-being of employees (47%); helping leaders develop new management and leadership skills to support remote working (38%); and redefining or further enhancing the culture to emphasise digital mindset, virtual working, and agility (34%).

MARKET INDICATORS

Poultry Farmers Hail CBN Intervention Major poultry farmers who have benefited from the Commercial Agricultural Credit Scheme (CACS) of the CBN have commended the Bankâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s intervention in the sector, stressing that the poultry sector in Nigeria is now enjoying a great revival.

Speaking with newsmen in Abuja, a statement yesterday quoted the Chairman, Premium Farms, Alhaji Mashey Rasheed, to have said the intervention of the CBN had helped to boost the poultry value chain in Nigeria.

According to him, the loans provided by the CBN would not only help to improve the production of chicken meat and

eggs but would also close the existing demand for poultry products and supply gap.

Rasheed, who said he was a proud beneficiary, urged other farmers to emulate those that have benefitted by approaching their banks in order to borrow and develop the economy.

In his remarks, the Group Managing Director of Amo Byng Nigeria Limited, Dr. Ayoola Oduntan said his company was very proud to be a beneficiary of the CBN intervention as many poultry farmers and those in the value chains of other crops now have testimonies to share about the turn-around experienced in

their businesses.

Also speaking, the Chairman of EMMPEK Farms, Abraka, Delta State, Mr. Audu Emmanuel, lauded the CBN for supporting large farmers as well as those in the SMEs category. He said such the support of the Bank and the Federal Government would help to enhance job creation and check the importation of poultry products in Nigeria. Other large beneficiaries that also extolled the impact of the CBN intervention in the poultry sector include Animal Care Services Konsult Nigeria Limited, Phinomar Nigeria Limited, Phed Nigeria Limited and Fortune Heights Farm.

MONEY AND CREDIT STATISTICS Money Supply (M3)

36,822,751.47

-- CBN Bills Held by Money Holding Sectors

3,476,121.25

Money Supply (M2)

33,346,630.22

-- Quasi Money

120,764,479.02

-- Narrow Money (M1)

12,582,151.19

---- Currency Outside Banks

2,002,026.89

---- Demand Deposits

10,580,124.31

Net Foreign Assets (NFA)

7,637,137.23

Net Domestic Assets(NDA)

29,185,614.24

-- Net Domestic Credit (NDC)

39,711,115.95

---- Credit to Government (Net)

African Female Business Leaders Speak on Success Factors Goddy Egene Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s first female Minister of Industry and Group Chairman, Emerging Africa Capital Group (EACG), Chief Mrs. Nike Akande, has said to become a successful woman business leader, such a person must be hardworking, honest, transparent and have winning mindset. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The qualities of a great leader are hard work, honesty, transparency, intellectual and professional rigor and a winning mindset,â&#x20AC;? she said.

Also, Chairman, First Bank of Nigeria, Mrs. Ibukun Awosika, said a successful leader must embark on personal development, manage key relationships as well as balance the demands of work and family. The duo spoke at the womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s leadership webinar with the theme: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Women Who Leadâ&#x20AC;? organised by the EACG. The vir-

tual event, which registered 4,000 participants from 24 countries across the globe, was hosted in honour of the 55th birthday of the Group Chief Executive Officer of EACG, Mrs. Toyin Sanni. Academic Scholar, Oxford University, former Treasurer of the World Bank and former Director General, Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Securities and Exchange Commission, Ms. Arunma Oteh, shared her 10 success principles, values, investing in oneself, excellence, courage and risk taking.

Head of the Casblanca Finance City, Ms. Lamia Merzouki, reminded participants that â&#x20AC;&#x153;The most powerful tool you have in your journey is yourself awareness which would give you more confidence, courage and audacity.â&#x20AC;?

The celebrant, Sanni shared her key priorities which she listed to include God, people, purpose, timing and meaning and advised

leaders on the importance of empathy and building trust.

Special guests who delivered goodwill messages at the event were: the Deputy Governor of Ogun State, Mrs Naimot Salako-Oyedele; Chairman, Avon Healthcare, Dr. Awele Elumelu, Chai and Pastor Mrs. Helen Oyitso of the Redeemed Christian Church of God. Other Special Guests at the event included: Director EAC Group, Mr. Segun Sanni; Chairman, EAC Trustees, Mrs. Cecilia Madueke; President, Chartered Institute of Bankers, Mr. Bayo Olugbemi; Chief Executive, West Africa at Standard Bank Group, Mr. Yinka Sanni; MD, FSDH Merchant Bank, Mrs. Hamda Ambah; President/ CEO, Transcorp Plc, Mrs. Owen Omogiafo, and GMD/CEO Nahco Aviance, Mrs. Tokunbo Fabemi, among others.

Group Launches Social Enterprise Masterclass The Junior Chamber International (JCI), a non-governmental organisation with presence in 124 countries which includes Nigeria has launched a Social Enterprise Masterclass (SEM) Cohort 1.

Currently in Nigeria, JCI has over 40 Local Organisations of which JCI Eko is one.

For 20 years now, JCI Eko has been a leading and proactive breeder of active citizens in Lagos State. They are professionals breeding like minds in becoming catalysts for sustainable

development.

According to a statement, the SEM is an initiative of JCI Eko targeted at young, budding and established social entrepreneurs who have unique approaches or interventions, which provides sustainable solutions to some of the social, economic and environmental challenges in Lagos State. â&#x20AC;&#x153;SEM is a fully funded training opportunity aimed at building and empowering over 100 social entrepreneurs across all the Local

Government Areas of Lagos State who will go ahead to become the catalysts for sustainable change and solution to social problems within the state,â&#x20AC;? the statement added.

According to the 2020 SEM team lead, Asiyanbi, David Tobi, social enterprise is the application of commercial strategies to maximise improvements in financial, social and environmental well-being with the sole aim of promoting, encouraging, and making social change.

(MILLION NAIRA)

JULY 2020

19,521,851.08

---- Memo: Credit to Govt. (Net) less FMA

0.00

---- Memo: Fed. and Mirror Accounts (FMA)

0.00

---- Credit to Private Sector (CPS)

-130,189,264.87

--Other Assets Net

3,472,017.70

Reserve Money (Base Money

13,421,827.07

--Currency in Circulation

2,395,917.03

--Banks Reserves --Special Intervention Reserves

11,025,910.04 317,234.17

Ëž Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x;Ă&#x153;Ă?Ă? Ě&#x2039;

Money Market Indicators (in Percentage) Month Inter-Bank Call Rate

March 2018 15.16

Minimum Rediscount Rate (MRR) Monetary Policy Rate (MPR)

14.00

Treasury Bill Rate

11.84

Savings Deposit Rate

4.07

1 Month Deposit Rate

8.82

3 Months Deposit Rate

9.72

6 Months Deposit Rate

10.93

12 Months Deposit Rate

10.21

Prime Lending rate

17.35

Maximum Lending Rate

31.55

Ëž Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x2DC;Ă?Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x153;ĂŁ Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x2013;Ă&#x201C;Ă?ĂŁ Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x17E;Ă? Ě&#x2039; ͯ͹Ϲ

OPEC DAILY BASKET PRICE Ë&#x153; ÍŻÍł Í°ÍŽÍ°ÍŽ

The price of OPEC basket of thirteen crudes stood at $39.35 a barrel on Tuesday, compared with $38.96 the previous day, according to OPEC Secretariat calculations.

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

SOURCE: OPEC headquarters, Vienna

37

T H I S D AY Ëž ÍŻÍľË&#x153; Í°ÍŽÍ°ÍŽ

Four Professional Bodies Sign MoU to Float Securities Institute Goddy Egene The Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers (CIS) and three other professional bodies have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to establish the Chartered Institute of Securities and Investment Management (CISIM). The move is expected to bring securities dealers and investment managers in Nigeria under one umbrella.

The CISIMâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Bill, which is

currently with the National Assembly, would replace the Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers Act 105 of 1992 when passed into law. The three other professional bodies that signed the MoU, are the Association of Investment Advisers and Portfolio Managers (AIPM),The Fund Managers Association of Nigeria (FMAN), Association of Issuing Houses of Nigeria (AIHN) with ASHONâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s chairman, Chief Onyenwechukwu Ezeagu, as an observer.

P R I C E S MAIN BOARD

F O R DEALS

The Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers Act 105 of 1992 , which established the CIS provides that individual operators that deal in securities, including stocks, treasury bills, bonds, commodities etc shall be trained and certified by the Institute. However, some individuals deal in securities without any form of certification and requisite training. Therefore, the CISIM Bill, when passed into law, will bring capital market

S E C U R I T I E S MARKET PRICE

QUANTITY TRADED

VALUE TRADED ( N )

professionals under a common objective without encroaching on one anotherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s business, make regulation easier, and enhance global competitiveness.

Commenting on the MoU, President, AIPM, Abimbola Olashore, said: â&#x20AC;&#x153; We share common goals and there is a need for standardisation to enhance our advocacy. The AIPM subscribes to the ideals of the proposed CISIM in Nigeria. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Our collaboration will bring about rapid development

T R A D E D MAIN BOARD

A S

of the entire financial system.

Nigeria is in dire need of funds for infrastructure development.

Substantial part of the fund can be mobilised from the capital market. We implore the National Assembly to hasten the passage of the Bill in the overall interest of the economy .â&#x20AC;?

On his part, the President, CIS, Olatunde Amolegbe, who said the proposed bill was nothing unusual, commended the professional bodies that signed

O F

the MoU for sincerity and unity of purpose. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and The Nigerian Stock Exchange ( NSE), the apex regulator and self-regulatory organisation (SRO) respectively, regulate stockbrokers but the ISA provides for individual operators that deal in securities to be certified by the Institute while their organisations are regulated

by SEC and the NSE and these are two different roles,â&#x20AC;? he said.

1 5 / 0 9 / 2 0 2 0 DEALS

MARKET PRICE

QUANTITY TRADED

VALUE TRADED ( N)

38

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2020 ˾ T H I S D AY

MARKET NEWS

FBN Holdings Inducts 375 New Employees Goddy Egene

Group induction programme The two induction programme, unified corporate culture among According to the company, for 375 new employees across which was organised to achieve staff was held virtually via the new hires were all employed in the past few FBN Holdings Plc has held its the financial holding company. among many other goals, a Zoom.

A Mutual fund (Unit Trust) is an investment floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange.

Offer price: The price at which units of a trust or vehicle managed by a SEC (Securities and A REIT (Real Estate Investment Trust) is an ETF are bought by investors.

Exchange Commission) registered Fund Manager. investment vehicle that allows both small and Bid Price: The price at which Investors Investors with similar objectives buy units of the large investors to part-own real estate ventures (eg. redeem (sell) units of a trust or ETF. Fund so that the Fund Manager can buy securities Offices, Houses, Hospitals) in proportion to their Yield/Total Return: Denotes the total that willl generate their desired return. investments. The assets are divided into shares that return an investor would have earned on An ETF (Exchange Traded Fund) is a type are traded on the Nigerian Stock Exchange. his investment. Money Market Funds report of fund which owns the assets (shares of stock, Yield while others report Year- to-date Total bonds, oil futures, gold bars, foreign currency, GUIDE TO DATA: Return. etc.) and divides ownership of those assets into Date: All fund prices are quoted in Naira as at 15- NAV: Is value per share of the real estate shares. Investors can buy these ‘shares’ on the Sep-2020, unless otherwise stated. assets held by a REIT on a specific date.

months cutting across the holding company and all its subsidiaries.

DAILY PRICE LIST FOR MUTUAL FUNDS, REITS and ETFS MUTUAL FUNDS / UNIT TRUSTS AFRINVEST ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD aaml@afrinvest.com Web: www.afrinvest.com; Tel: +234 818 885 6757 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Afrinvest Equity Fund N/A N/A N/A Afrinvest Plutus Fund N/A N/A N/A Nigeria International Debt Fund N/A N/A N/A ALTERNATIVE CAPITAL PARTNERS LTD info@acapng.com Web: www.acapng.com, Tel: +234 1 291 2406, +234 1 291 2868 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn ACAP Canary Growth Fund 0.93 0.94 3.21% ACAP Income Funds 0.79 0.79 10.33% AIICO CAPITAL LTD ammf@aiicocapital.com Web: www.aiicocapital.com, Tel: +234-1-2792974 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn AIICO Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 5.55% AIICO Balanced Fund 3.04 3.12 23.74% ANCHORIA ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED info@anchoriaam.com Web:www.anchoriaam.com, Tel: 08166830267; 08036814510; 08028419180 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Anchoria Money Market 100.00 100.00 2.35% Anchoria Equity Fund 100.71 101.06 -1.21% Anchoria Fixed Income Fund 1.29 1.29 11.63% ARM INVESTMENT MANAGERS LTD enquiries@arminvestmentcenter.com Web: www.arm.com.ng; Tel: 0700 CALLARM (0700 225 5276) Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn ARM Aggressive Growth Fund 14.51 14.95 -5.27% ARM Discovery Fund 342.36 352.68 -0.89% ARM Ethical Fund 30.59 31.52 5.20% ARM Eurobond Fund ($) 1.16 1.16 16.04% ARM Fixed Income Fund 1.08 1.09 8.65% ARM Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 4.18% AXA MANSARD INVESTMENTS LIMITED investmentcare@axamansard.com Web: www.axamansard.com; Tel: +2341-4488482 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn AXA Mansard Equity Income Fund 97.44 98.12 1.41% AXA Mansard Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 4.18% CAPITAL EXPRESS ASSET AND TRUST LIMITED info@capitalexpressassetandtrust.com Web: www.capitalexpressassetandtrust.com ; Tel: +234 803 307 5048 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn CEAT Fixed Income Fund 2.19 2.19 19.89% Capital Express Balanced Fund(Formerly: Union Trustees Mixed Fund) 1.87 1.90 7.84% CHAPELHILL DENHAM MANAGEMENT LTD investmentmanagement@chapelhilldenham.com Web: www.chapelhilldenham.com, Tel: +234 461 0691 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Chapelhill Denham Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 5.07% Paramount Equity Fund 11.60 11.80 -7.36% Women's Investment Fund 111.58 112.55 1.05% CORDROS ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED assetmgtteam@cordros.com Web: www.cordros.com, Tel: 019036947 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Cordros Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 4.60% Cordros Milestone Fund 2023 106.20 106.54 Cordros Milestone Fund 2028 119.81 120.69 Cordros Dollar Fund ($) 103.61 103.61 CORONATION ASSEST MANAGEMENT investment@coronationam.com Web:www.coronationam.com , Tel: 012366215 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Coronation Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 3.39% Coronation Balanced Fund 0.96 0.97 3.18% Coronation Fixed Income Fund 1.59 1.59 19.39% EDC FUNDS MANAGEMENT LIMITED mutualfundng@ecobank.com Web: www.ecobank.com Tel: 012265281 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn EDC Nigeria Money Market Fund Class A 100.00 100.00 3.87% EDC Nigeria Money Market Fund Class B 1,000,000.00 1,000,000.00 2.61% EDC Nigeria Fixed Income Fund 1,173.03 1,185.83 5.80% FBNQUEST ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD invest@fbnquest.com Web: www.fbnquest.com/asset-management; Tel: +234-81 0082 0082 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn FBN Fixed Income Fund 1,412.94 1,414.50 15.71% FBN Balanced Fund 153.61 154.65 4.62% FBN Halal Fund N/A N/A N/A FBN Money Market Fund . . . .

121.33 121.75 4.96% FBN Nigeria Eurobond (USD) Fund - Retail 121.41 121.80 4.51% FBN Nigeria Smart Beta Equity Fund 115.08 116.86 -11.57% FCMB ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED fcmbamhelpdesk@fcmb.com Web: www.fcmbassetmanagement.com; Tel: +234 1 462 2596 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Legacy Money Market Fund N/A N/A N/A Legacy Debt Fund N/A N/A N/A Legacy Equity Fund N/A N/A N/A Legacy USD Bond Fund N/A N/A N/A FSDH ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD coralfunds@fsdhgroup.com Web: www.fsdhaml.com; Tel: 01-270 4884-5; 01-280 9740-1 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Coral Growth Fund N/A N/A N/A Coral Income Fund N/A N/A N/A FSDH Treasury Bills Fund N/A N/A N/A GREENWICH ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED assetmanagement@gtlgroup.com Web: www.gtlgroup.com ; Tel: +234 1 4619261-2 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Greenwich Plus Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 3.93% Nigeria Entertainment Fund 113.38 120.61 8.62%

GROWTH & DEVELOPMENT ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED assetmanagement@gdl.com.ng Web: www.gdl.com.ng ; Tel: +234 9055691122 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn GDL Money Market Fund N/A N/A N/A INVESTMENT ONE FUNDS MANAGEMENT LTD enquiries@investment-one.com Web: www.investment-one.com; Tel: +234 812 992 1045,+234 1 448 8888 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Abacus Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 3.94% Vantage Balanced Fund 2.29 2.33 4.65% Vantage Guaranteed Income Fund 1.00 1.00 8.34% Kedari Investment Fund (KIF) 150.71 151.45 5.14% LOTUS CAPITAL LTD fincon@lotuscapitallimited.com Web: www.lotuscapitallimited.com; Tel: +234 1-291 4626 / +234 1-291 4624 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Lotus Halal Investment Fund 1.26 1.28 7.93% Lotus Halal Fixed Income Fund 1,139.20 1,139.20 7.56% MERISTEM WEALTH MANAGEMENT LTD info@meristemwealth.com Web: http://www.meristemwealth.com/funds/ ; Tel: +234 1-4488260 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Meristem Equity Market Fund N/A N/A N/A Meristem Money Market Fund N/A N/A N/A PAC ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD info@pacassetmanagement.com Web: www.pacassetmanagement.com/mutualfunds; Tel: +234 1 271 8632 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn PACAM Balanced Fund 1.32 1.35 8.88% PACAM Fixed Income Fund 11.90 11.97 5.71% PACAM Money Market Fund 10.00 10.00 3.29% PACAM Equity Fund 1.07 1.09 PACAM EuroBond Fund 108.17 110.72 SCM CAPITAL LIMITED info@scmcapitalng.com Web: www.scmcapitalng.com; Tel: +234 1-280 2226,+234 1- 280 2227 Fund Name 115.52 117.82 -3.88% SCM Capital Frontier Fund 116.31 118.18 -5.19% SFS CAPITAL NIGERIA LTD investments@sfsnigeria.com Web: www.sfsnigeria.com, Tel: +234 (01) 2801400 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn SFS Fixed Income Fund 1.02 1.02 6.62% STANBIC IBTC ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD assetmanagement@stanbicibtc.com Web: www.stanbicibtcassetmanagement.com; Tel: +234 1 280 1266; 0700 MUTUALFUNDS Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Stanbic IBTC Balanced Fund 2,521.35 2,532.80 6.19% Stanbic IBTC Bond Fund 210.33 210.33 5.11% Stanbic IBTC Ethical Fund 0.88 0.89 0.00% Stanbic IBTC Guaranteed Investment Fund 273.87 273.95 5.91% Stanbic IBTC Iman Fund 154.92 156.64 4.61% Stanbic IBTC Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 3.60% Stanbic IBTC Nigerian Equity Fund 7,674.15 7,756.30 -2.80% Stanbic IBTC Dollar Fund (USD) 1.21 1.21 3.92% Stanbic IBTC Shariah Fixed Income Fund 109.40 109.40 4.98% UNITED CAPITAL ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD Web: www.unitedcapitalplcgroup.com; Tel: +234 803 306 2887 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn United Capital Balanced Fund 1.16 1.18 -2.78% United Capital Bond Fund 1.85 1.85 7.12% United Capital Equity Fund 0.67 0.69 -5.17% United Capital Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 4.58% United Capital Eurobond Fund 114.73 114.73 4.99% United Capital Wealth for Women Fund 1.03 1.03 -2.03% QUANTUM ZENITH ASSET MANAGEMENT & INVESTMENTS LTD service@quantumzenithasset.com.ng Web: www.quantumzenith.com.ng; Tel: +234 1-2784219 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Zenith Equity Fund 10.39 10.51 1.08% Zenith Ethical Fund 11.58 11.68 -0.36% Zenith Income Fund 24.39 24.39 113.72% Zenith Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 3.61%

REITS NAV Per Share

Fund Name SFS Skye Shelter Fund

Yield / T-Rtn

117.93

5.15%

53.40

2.59%

Bid Price

Offer Price

Yield / T-Rtn

9.18 85.62 66.89

9.28 87.47 68.11

5.45% -9.36% -10.97%

Union Homes REIT

EXCHANGE TRADED FUNDS Fund Name Lotus Halal Equity Exchange Traded Fund SIAML Pension ETF 40 Stanbic IBTC ETF 30 Fund

VETIVA FUND MANAGERS LTD Web: www.vetiva.com; Tel: +234 1 453 0697 Fund Name Vetiva Banking Exchange Traded Fund Vetiva Consumer Goods Exchange Traded Fund Vetiva Griffin 30 Exchange Traded Fund Vetiva Money Market Fund Vetiva Industrial Goods Exchange Traded Fund Vetiva S&P Nigeria Sovereign Bond Exchange Traded Fund

funds@vetiva.com Bid Price

Offer Price

Yield / T-Rtn

N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A

N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A

N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A

NAV Per Share

Yield / T-Rtn

108.03

15.02%

INFRASTRUCTURE FUND Fund Name Chapel Hill Denham Nigeria Infrastructure Debt Fund

The value of investments and the income from them may fall as well as rise. Past performance is a guide and not an indication of future returns. Fund prices published in this edition are also available on each fund manager’s website and FMAN’s website at www.fman.com.ng. Fund prices are supplied by the operator of the relevant fund and are published for information purposes only.

THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 17, 2020 â&#x20AC;¢ T H I S D AY

39

40

THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 17, 2020 ˾ T H I S D AY

INTERNATIONAL

Mali’s Military Leaders Visit Rawlings Ghana’s former President, Jerry John Rawlings, has urged the new leadership in Mali to use the transition period to exhibit exceptional leadership for the country and usher her into a prosperous era.

The former president made the call when a four-man delegation of the National Committee for the Salvation of the People (CNSP) led by its Chairman, Colonel Assimi Goïta called on him on Tuesday.

He urged the Malian leadership to mobilise their people into taking up productive activity through a positive vision to boost the country’s development.

He also advised them to empower and encourage the people to own their political

climate and to improve on the quality of multiparty democracy that Western powers “have hung around our necks”.

“The level of corruption that has become an integral part of multiparty democracy has created a general climate of stress and tension that may destabilise some areas in our region. It is unfortunate that the world is being forced into multiparty democracy with corruption and violence rather than other forms of democratic practices with none or minimal corruption.

Unfortunately, the West appears to favour corruptible political tendencies in order to continue to dominate our security and economy,” the former president stated.

Rawlings also encouraged the transitional unit to govern with humility and diligence and inspire the people to fight and defy corruption and injustice.

He said he was dutifully passing on ECOWAS leadership’s concerns while sharing his own political experiences and observations.The meeting took place after ECOWAS leaders held an Extraordinary meeting with the Malian leadership at Peduase in Ghana, to discuss political developments in Mali.

Colonel Assimi Goïta was accompanied by Colonel Ismaël Wagué, Major Talibe Konte and Captain Demba N’daw.

Also present was the Malian Ambassador to Ghana, Abdoul Kader Toure.

Transgender Woman Cannot Be Child’s Mother, French Court Rules France’s highest court ruled Wednesday that a transgender woman cannot be officially recognised as the biological mother of the child she conceived with her wife, in a ruling described as “scandalous” by her lawyer.

To become one of the six-yearold girl’s two legal mothers, the 51-year-old transgender woman would have to adopt her, the Cour de Cassation ruled.

Born male, the applicant was recognised as a woman by French authorities in 2011. She then had a child with her wife in 2014, having not undergone

the operation to have her male reproductive organs removed.

She has fought ever since to be recognised as the child’s second mother, not father.

In 2018, an appeals court in the city of Montpellier ascribed her the status of “biological parent”, a new category.

But the Cour de Cassation threw out most of that ruling on Wednesday, and refered the case back to a lower court for a new hearing.

The woman’s lawyer, Clelia Richard, described the ruling as “scandalous” and said it was a “lost opportunity.”

“The fight is unfortunately not over,” she said.

Another campaigner, Mathieu Stoclet, pointed out the “incoherence” of the woman being recognised as female by the French system, but at the same time as the child’s father.

“The ruling is a considerable step backwards towards a concept of parenthood that was believed to be long buried,” said Bertrand Perier of the APGL association of gay and lesbian parents.

Lawyers for the woman said they would take the matter to the European Court of Human Rights.

Bill Gates’ Father Dies at 94 William H. Gates II, a lawyer and philanthropist who was the father of Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, has died at 94.

Gates died Monday at his beach home in Washington state from Alzheimer’s disease, his family announced Tuesday, CBS News reports.

In an obituary, the family credited the patriarch with a “deep commitment to social and economic equity,” noting that he was responsible for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s first efforts to improve global health. The family also touched on his advocacy for progressive taxation, especially his unsuccessful efforts to pass a state income tax on the wealthy in Washington.

“My dad’s wisdom, generosity, empathy, and humility had a

huge influence on people around the world,” Bill Gates wrote in a tribute.

Born in 1925, Gates Sr. grew up in Bremerton, Washington, where his parents owned a furniture store. During World War II, he joined the Army following his freshman year at the University of Washington and was en route to Japan when it surrendered in 1945. He served a year in war-torn Tokyo before returning to the United States and resuming his education, his family said. After earning his law degree in 1950, he began working in private practice and as a part-time Bremerton city attorney.

He formed a Seattle law firm with two other partners that eventually became Preston Gates and Ellis — now known as K

& L Gates, one of the world’s largest law firms. The firm was one of the first to work with the region’s technology industry.

Gates Sr. met his first wife, Mary Maxwell, at the University of Washington. They had two daughters and a son — Gates Jr. — and remained married until her death in 1994. Two years later he married Mimi Gardner, then the director of the Seattle Art Museum, with whom he spent the last quarter-century of his life.

“When I was a kid, he wasn’t prescriptive or domineering, and yet he never let me coast along at things I was good at, and he always pushed me to try things I hated or didn’t think I could do (swimming and soccer, for example),” Gates Jr. wrote in the tribute.

Barbados to Remove Queen Elizabeth as Head of State Barbados has announced its intention to remove Queen Elizabeth II as head of state and become a republic by November next year, as the Caribbean island nation seeks to move fully beyond its colonial past.

The decision was formalized in the so-called Throne Speech, delivered on behalf of Prime Minister Mia Mottley by the island’s Governor-General Sandra Mason to mark the state opening of parliament on Tuesday.

More than half a century after attaining independence from Britain, “the time has come to fully leave our colonial past behind,” Mason said.

“Barbadians want a Barbadian Head of State,” she said. “This

is the ultimate statement of confidence in who we are and what we are capable of achieving.”

Mason said “Barbados will take the next logical step toward full sovereignty and become a Republic by the time we celebrate our 55th Anniversary of Independence” — which will be marked on November 30, 2021.

When asked about the speech, a Buckingham Palace spokesman said: “This is a matter for the government and people of Barbados.”

Queen Elizabeth is head of state of the United Kingdom and 15 other formerly-British ruled countries, where she is represented by the governor-general.

They are Antigua and Barbuda,

Australia, The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Canada, Grenada, Jamaica, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Solomon Islands, and Tuvalu.

Many Barbadians have called in the past for removing the queen’s status — due to its lingering imperialist associations — and several of the island’s leaders have advocated becoming a republic.

A government-appointed commission concluded in 1998 that Barbados should become a republic with a non-executive president as head of state to replace the queen — but the recommendation was not acted upon.

41

THURSDAY, ͚ͿË&#x153; ͺ͸ͺ͸ Ëž T H I S D AY

PERSPECTIVE

Obaseki, The Emperor-Governor Tunde Rahman The only way the good, excellent people of Edo can win the coming election is for Godwin Obaseki to lose it and exit the Governorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s House. This election is not the ordinary contest between politicians in competing parties. This election pits a smart and honorable man in Osagie Ize-Iyamu against someone who fancies himself as an emperor-governor. Ize-Iyamu seeks to serve the public to the best of his ample capabilities. Obaseki seeks to ride the public as a ruthless owner does a meek, beaten-down workhorse, until the poor animal is exhausted and spent.

In this, Obaseki has embraced a most perverse and acrid view of a governorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s relationship with the governed. He has it all wrong. A governor is meant to be the agent and servant of the electorate.

Obaseki believes a governor is elected to be an imperial overseer. He thinks he needs not to tend to the needs of the people and needs not obey any constitution or law because he is a law unto himself and because his personal wants always supersede the collective necessities of the people. That Obaseki thinks he is a law unto himself means but one thing; he is, in essence, an outlaw. He finds no value in democracy and the rule of law because he derives no windfall profits from the exercise of these ideals. He fears these noble beliefs will constrain his quest to place the state and its people under foot.

Thus, Obaseki has done something that no governor in Nigeria has ever had the ruthless disregard to do. Instead of using his position to foster democratic progressive governance in the state, Obaseki has tried his best to thwart it. Obaseki did not win office because of himself. He won the governorship because of the collective efforts of APC members. By himself, Obaseki would not have garnered more than the handful of votes that represent his immediate family and his small number of hangers-on. Obaseki won because he promised to be faithful to and guided by the progressive, democratic tenets of the APC. He said these things only to get the party ticket. He did not believe in the partyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s aims. His was a subterfuge for he wanted the opposite of progressive people-oriented governance. He desired only the governance of one man for that same one man. Once he gained office, he would brutalise every good belief and institution that stood in the way of his burning desire to arrogate all state power to himself.

Thus, although it was through APC support that he came to office, one of Obasekiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s most telling acts was to illegally bar the majority of the State Assembly members from taking their duly elected positions. These State Assembly members were elected in free and fair elections. There was no question as to the legality of their election and their right to function as legislators on behalf of the people of the state. Obaseki had no constitutional right or legal reason to bar them. He did so for one reason only - he feared they would do their job. He feared they would exercise the oversight envisioned by the constitution. He feared they would pass progressive laws intended more to benefit the people than to benefit him. The very presence of these lawmakers offended his sense of omnipotence and his chance to do to the people as he wanted.

His very actions in this regard makes him singularly dangerous and unfit for office. First, his actions prove his words as a politician are counterfeit and his promises are false. He purposefully deceived APC members in the state to get the position he craved. Some people will say that such is the way of politics. To a degree, these people would be right. This is the way of bad politics and such politics is not what is needed; for bad politics always leads to bad governance. The politician who relies on falsehood to gain office will lean even more heavily on falsehood to keep that office.

Second, and more important than even his deception against the APC, Obaseki has offended the very constitution and laws that allowed him to attain the governorship.

No one tried to illegally bar his entrance

Obaseki

into the Governorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Office. Had he been barred, Obaseki would have cried a loud and ceaseless cry. There would be no end to his lamentations. He would knock at every door and stop every passerby to tell them how rudely he had been treated. Yet, Obasekiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s narcissism allows him no sense of fairness. Although he voluntarily swore before Heaven and humankind to uphold the constitution, Obaseki has unabashedly violated that sacred oath by preventing State Assembly members from assuming their proper constitutional duties.

This is no small or laughing matter.

Obaseki intentionally broke his public vow not due to some unexpected imminent threat. He undertook this egregious and unprecedented violation simply to prevent the proper and legal sitting of the legislative branch of government. He sought to forbid this because he sought to toss away the checks and balances mandated by the constitution against executive overreach.

Obaseki did not want to govern under the proper constitutional setting. He did not want public oversight of his arbitrary and wrong actions. He did not want a State Assembly passing laws that would benefit the people while not necessarily profiting him.

For a very long time, people tried to persuade Obaseki to correct the serious constitutional breach he created. The truth be told, Obaseki opened himself to impeachment by this flouting of the constitution and State Assembly. His was simply an exercise of naked, benighted political power. There was no reason for it save that he is the sole and only reason he can see.

Seeing that Obaseki would never embrace constitutional reason and democratic logic, the State Assembly members he wrongfully exiled ultimately decided to exercise their

duties and rights. A few weeks ago, they determined to make their way to the State Assembly building. At that late hour, Obaseki had a chance to redeem himself had he let the lawmakers take the seats duly given them by the Edo electorate.

Instead, Obaseki revealed his true criminal colors. He purposefully sent hired lackeys to destroy the roof and other aspects of the state assembly building to make it unfit for use. Unsure that this would be enough, he deployed hired goons to prevent people entering the building.

However, Obaseki missed a vital point with this crude, undemocratic exercise.

True power resides not in any building or symbol such as a mace. These are merely objects. True democratic power resides in the people and in the constitution written to safeguard the rights of the people. Tearing down a building does not tear down the constitutional rights of the people to be represented by the lawmakers for whom they voted. In destroying the building, Obaseki thought he did a cunning thing.

All he did was to show his criminality.

He cannot abrogate the state legislature by razing a building or any part of it. To think so is to adhere to the foolish thought that the law of land somehow resides in brick and mortar or that the constitution is inferior to the whims of one man. In improperly spending state money to destroy state property and to prevent the functions of the state assembly, Obaseki has shown himself to be a destroyer of representative democracy and good governance. These are not the acts of a leader intent on improving the living conditions of the people. These are the errors of a man who cares for nothing but himself and who sees himself as superior to those he claims to serve.

If there is one thing his tenure has proven,

As Election Day nears, people must begin to ask themselves who is most likely to honor his commitment to the people, Obaseki, the serial violator of law, the constitution and progressive ethics, or Ize-Iyamu, a sincere man of his word and man with faith in democracy and its institutions. Ize-Iyamu will use the money in state coffers to develop the state. Obaseki is of a different sort

it is that Obaseki is proficient at breaking the law. If reelected, he will surely break the law even more; he will do so not for the people but for himself. There is no reason for him to break the law if his goal is the collective benefit because the law also is meant to serve the collective benefit.

As Election Day nears, people must begin to ask themselves who is most likely to honor his commitment to the people, Obaseki, the serial violator of law, the constitution and progressive ethics, or Ize-Iyamu, a sincere man of his word and man with faith in democracy and its institutions.

Ize-Iyamu will use the money in state coffers to develop the state. Obaseki is of a different sort. Whether another personâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s money or state funds, Obaseki will seize them as his own. He would take your money then publicly insult you for asking what became of it. If you persisted in seeing redress, he would destroy the roof of your house just as he did the State House of Assembly building to prevent your lawmakers from doing their vital constitutional duties. These are not the ways of a governor of a great, important state. These are the acts of a bully and coward who has found himself in a position for which he is unfit. He is too small minded and too petty to be the governor that Edo needs.

Edo and its capital Benin are known as the cradle of black civilisation. This is a precious and noble distinction that should never be undervalued. Yet, Obaseki seeks to break the cradle and ignore the longstanding principles of that civilisation.

The great venerable capital is known as a place of historic achievement, wisdom and enlightened governance. This is a civilisation which is globally known and universally respected. Ize-Iyamu walks in this noble and proud tradition.

Obaseki subverts this tradition merely to promote his own transient ends. He sees himself as bigger than everything. He does not see development of the state as his goal because he sees the state merely as a personal playground where he can romp about as he deems fit. Obaseki has shown himself to be without regard to the constitution and rights of others. Some people may think this makes him a strong man. All it does is make him the wrong man, for a governor without regard for your rights is a governor with no regard for the duties he owes you. Obaseki has broken many things. Vote for Ize-Iyamu that they may be repaired before Obaseki causes more harm. r3BINBO JT .FEJB "EWJTFS UP 4FOBUPS #PMB 5JOVCV

42

THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 17, 2020 ˾ T H I S D AY

NEWS

Sagay: Bill for Amendment of EFCC Law is Fraud Says bill sponsors ashamed to put their names

Ejiofor Alike The Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption (PACAC), led by Prof. Itse Sagay yesterday, described as fraud a proposed bill for the amendment of the establishment Act of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and called on Nigerians and the National Assembly to reject it.

Sagay declared that even the sponsors of the bill were too ashamed to put their names on the bill being circulated.

PACAC, in a statement signed

by Sagay, and released by the Communication Unit of the committee, said the planned amendment was part of “an ongoing very sinister and dangerous attempt to demolish the anti-corruption infrastructure of Nigeria and return it to the situation it was in during the dark days before 2015.

He added that those behind it “are the representatives of the corrupt establishment that brought this country to its knees and subjected us to humiliation as a result of an extremely negative reputation internationally”.

The bill seeks to weaken the

EFCC and its officials and confer an enormous power of control of the anti-graft agency on the office of the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice.

However, Sagay did not mention the name of the incumbent AGF, Abubakar Malami (SAN), as the sponsor of the controversial bill.

The senior lawyer however tackled the minister for what he described as his proclivity for aborting criminal cases in favour of major political and governmental figures.

He noted that the draft bill, which intended to repeal the EFCC Establishment Act 2004, was being sponsored by those that were “too ashamed to put their names to the draft bill being circulated”.

Sagay described the sponsors of the bill as the “enemies of Nigeria”.

Malami has been linked to the controversial bill but the minister has neither denied nor confirmed the allegation Citing various provisions of the bill, Sagay said it would eliminate the anti-graft agency’s “freedom and autonomy” and replace it with “an entity under the

complete control of the Minister of Justice and Attorney-General”.

He added that the proposed bill would effectively turn the commission into a department in the Federal Ministry of Justice.

The statement read in part, “with all the above-established facts, the gravity of the proposed change becomes overwhelming.

“When in addition to all this, we recall the well-known proclivity of the Attorney-General

for entering nolle procequi in favour of major political and governmental figures, this move to effectively scrap the EFCC becomes more alarming.

“We, therefore, call on the National Assembly and all Nigerians to vigorously reject this attempt to perpetrate a fraud on the nation by effectively scuttling the EFCC and shutting down Nigeria’s anti-corruption war.”

Offensive highlights of the

proposed bill, according to Sagay, include, “Repeal of the current EFCC Establishment Act which has been a spectacular success and has brought Nigeria into limelight as a major force against corruption; the replacement of the Executive Chairman of the EFCC with a Director-General who is effectively to be appointed by the Attorney-General. This eliminates the EFCC’s freedom and autonomy and replaces

it with an entity under the complete control of the Minister of Justice and Attorney-General; the replacement of the Board of EFCC with Directors who are effectively to be appointees of the Attorney-General; and the elimination of the position of the Secretary of the EFCC, a critical officer who serves as the institutional memory and the Administrative Head of the Agency.

Nigeria’s COVID-19 Cases ALL EYES ON MILITARY COOPERATION...

Chief of Naval Staff,Vice Admiral Ibok- Ete Ekwe Ibas (left), and the Ambassador of the Russian Federation to Nigeria, Mr. Alexey Shebarshin, Rise By 126 to 56,604 during the envoy’s working visit to the Naval Headquarters in Abuja...yesterday Martins Ifijeh Nigeria has recorded 126 new cases of COVID-19, bringing to 56,604 the number of confirmed cases in the country.

It has also recorded three COVID-19 related deaths within the last 24 hours, raising the tally from 1,088 to 1,091 in a single day.

Announcing this yesterday, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) said Federal

Capital Territory (FCT) recorded 37 new cases; Lagos, 27; Plateau, 16; Kaduna, nine; Abia, seven; Gombe and Ondo six each; Imo, five; Delta, Ekiti, Kwara and Oyo, two each; while Bauchi, Kano, Katsina, Ogun, and Yobe recorded one case each.

It said: “Nigeria has so far recorded 56,604 confirmed cases of COVID-19. 47,872 patients have been discharged, while 1,091 have died.”

Court Orders Resident Doctors to End Strike The National Industrial Court (NIC) in Abuja yesterday ordered the members of the National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) to immediately end their industrial action which started on September 7, 2020.

Justice Galadima issued the order in a ruling on an ex parte application filed by two civil society groups, the Citizens Advocacy for Social and Economic

Rights, and Association of Women in Trade and Agriculture.

Joined as respondents in the suit marked, NICN/ABJ/124/2020, are NARD; the Attorney-General of the Federation, Mr Abubakar Malami (SAN); the Minister of Health, Osagie Ehanire, and the Minister of Labour and Productivity, Dr. Chris Ngige.

However, being an ex parte hearing, which is one-sided

proceeding, the respondents were not represented in court yesterday. Moving the ex parte application, the plaintiff’s lawyer, Mr. Frank Tietie, urged the court to direct the resident doctors as providers of essential services key to the fundamental right to life of members of the groups and all Nigerians, to immediately cease their strike action and resume duties.

Tietie added that if allowed to continue, the strike action by the doctors would cause irreparable damage to the ongoing negotiation between NARD and the Federal Government.

He added that the strike would render the pending substantive suit challenging the right of the doctors to embark on industrial action an academic exercise.

yesterday sustained varying degree of injuries, while about five vehicles in the campaign trains of both the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) were

Local Government Area of Ondo State.

Spokespersons of the campaign organisations of the two political parties engaged each other in accusations and counter

Olabode, in a statement, alleged that hoodlums loyal to the PDP governorship candidate, Eyitayo Jegede (SAN), yesterday attacked the convoy of the state Governor, Oluwarotimi Akeredolu (SAN), at

the APC campaign train was on the way to Ikare-Akoko in continuation of the local government campaign rally when the PDP struck and attacked the convoy of the campaign train.

Ngige Dismisses TUC’s Persons Injured as APC, PDP Supporters Clash in Ondo Seven-day Ultimatum to Five destroyed when supporters of accusations. The spokesperson Oba Akoko in Akoko Southwest James Sowole in Akure parties clashed at Oba- of the Akeredolu Campaign LGA of the state.

Reverse Petrol Price Hike No fewer than six persons both Akoko in Akoko South West Organisation, Mr. Richard Olabode said Akeredolu and FEC Approves new policy on occupational safety

Omololu Ogunmade in Abuja The Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige, yesterday dismissed the seven-day ultimatum given the federal government by the Trade Union Congress (TUC) to reverse the new fuel price or face industrial action as invalid.

Answering a question from State House correspondents after a virtual Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting, Ngige described the ultimatum as misplaced because it was wrongly directed.

He said the ultimatum was addressed to President Muhammadu Buhari, in contravention of labour laws which authorise labour bodies to address such an ultimatum to the labour minister.

“The TUC issue, the sevenday ultimatum was misplaced because they were writing the president and issuing ultimatum to him.

“The president is not recognised by ILO. The competent authority for this nature of dispute in Nigeria resides in the man who oversees them, which is whoever is the Minister of Labour and Employment,” he said Ngige also said FEC yesterday approved a new national policy on occupational safety and health, tagged National Policy on Occupational Safety 2020.

He also explained that the policy was a derivative of the provisions of both the 1999 Nigerian Constitution as well as the International Labour Organisation’s (ILO) convention.

He said: “The Federal Executive Council today (yesterday) approved a new policy on occupational safety and health 2020. This policy is designed to make for safety and health of workers at work places.

Terrorists Now Occupy Oyo Community, Gani Adams Alleges Kemi OlaitaninIbadan The Aare Onakakanfo of Yorubaland, Iba Gani Adams, yesterday raised the alarm over the activities of armed terrorists, which he alleged are now occupying Kishi, North-west area of Oyo State as well as the vast old Oyo National Park in the state.

The National Coordinator of Odua People’s Congress (OPC) in

a statement signed by his Special Assistant on Media, Mr. Kehinde Aderemi, and made available to THISDAY in Ibadan yesterday said the recent development pose a great danger to the security of the entire South-west region.

He disclosed that in the past few days, the armed groups have engaged in kidnapping of locals apart from threatening their means of livelihood and access to forest

resources, stating that children, the aged and women are the most targeted by the violent activities of the armed groups.

According to him, “I have received numerous reports from Kishi, North-west of Oyo State.

The reports range from ceaseless kidnapping, rape and threat to lives of the Yoruba people in the Oke Ogun area, with Kishi as the present hub of terrorist attacks. It’s

my responsibility to alert the public and also the relevant authorities.”

Adams, while expressing worry that the region is gradually becoming a haven for bandits and terrorists masquerading as herdsmen, warned that the situation must be nipped in the bud to prevent the Southwest taking the ignoble part of the Northeast and the North-west areas of Nigeria where violence has taken a firm root.

NCAA: Only Functional Carriers will Access FG’s Palliative Chinedu Eze

The Director-General of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority ( NCAA), Captain Musa Nuhu, yesterday declared that only operational airlines with valid Air Operators ‘ Certificate (AOC) will access palliative packaged by federal government for indigenous

carriers.

Nuhu who stated this at a zoom meeting said the palliatives proposed by the federal government would take different forms at a single-digit loan to be paid for many years.

The NCAA helmsman said the umbrella body of indigenous carriers: Airline Operators of

Nigeria (AON), would not err in putting forward a defunct airline for the palliative.

He said: “Any airline can apply, whether functioning or not but it is a policy that participating airlines must be functioning and with Air Operators Certificate. I also believe that the AON has its own set of rules and they

know the criteria, I believe the AON will not put forward a non- functioning airline.”

On the economic viability of Nigerian airlines, he explained that the COVID-19 had dealt a devastating blow on even the strongest of carriers which are being handed bailouts to survive across the globe.

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US Insists on Visa Ban on Election Riggers Denies revealing identities of sanctioned persons

Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja The United States Government has again reiterated its decision

to impose visa ban on anyone who undermines the country’s democratic process ahead of the Edo and Ondo States

Kidnappers of Ex-US Soldier Demand N20m Ransom Victor Ogunje in Ado Ekiti

The kidnappers of a retired United States of America army officer, Major Jide Ijadare, who was abducted in Ekiti State last Tuesday have demanded the sum of N20 million as ransom to facilitate his release.

Ijadare and one of his staff were abducted by gunmen at Ijan Ekiti, Gbonyin Local Government Area of Ekiti State last Tuesday.

The former military officer and other victim were kidnapped around 2:05p.m. at his palm oil factory located on Ijan-Ise road.

A man identified as a contractor with the factory was shot dead by the assailants during the broad day attack.

This information, therefore negates what was being bandied around that the person killed during the abduction was a youth corps member.

A member of Ijadare’s family confirmed to journalists via telephone yesterday that the

abductors had contacted one of them and demanded such humungous amount as ransom.

“Yes, they contacted one of the family members this morning (Wednesday) and made that demand.

“Though the matter had been reported to the police since a life was lost, and they are also doing their own bit to ensure that those abducted are released in time,” he said.

However, the state Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. Sunday Abutu, said the command was not aware of any ransom being demanded by the abductors.

He said: “We are not aware of any ransom being demanded by the abductors. But our men are in the bush combing everywhere to ensure his release.

“The state Police Commissioner, Babatunde Mobayo, had deployed different units of police operatives in the factory and the surrounding forests.

Senate Traces Nigeria’s Insecurity Challenges to 1976 Local Govt Reform Wants specific roles for traditional rulers Deji Elumoye in Abuja The Senate yesterday traced the history of the country’s rising level of insecurity to the 1976 Local Government Reforms which it said created a vacuum of intelligence gathering at the grassroots level.

It has, therefore, canvassed for specific roles for traditional rulers in the current move to address the mounting security problems facing the country.

President of the Senate, Dr. Ahmad Lawan, who spoke after being conferred with the Ganuwan Kebbi title by the Emir of Argungun, Alhaji Muhammad Mera, at the National Assembly, submitted that the wave of insecurity bedeviling the country, particularly in the northern

part, was caused by vacuum of intelligence gathering at the grassroots created by the 1976 local government reform.

According to him, the removal of traditional rulers from administrative structure of respective local government councils across the country through the reform, created vacuum for intelligence gathering at the grassroots which resulted in all manner of insecurity in the country presently from Boko Haram to banditry and herdsmen/ farmers clashes.

Lawal frowned at the removal of traditional rulers from governance, particularly at the local government level by the then military administration in 1976.

Ekiti, Osun Sign Peace Pact to Resolve Boundary Dispute Victor Ogunje in Ado Ekiti As part of the efforts to ensure peace at the borders, especially in the border towns between Osun State and Ekiti States, the state governments have entered into a peace agreement for sustainable development in the areas.

The Deputy Governor of Ekiti State, Chief Bisi Egbeyemi, disclosed this during a joint meeting of Ekiti and Osun States officials on interstate boundary organised by the National Boundary Commission in Osogbo, Osun State.

Egbeyemi and his Osun State counterpart, Mr. Benedict Alabi, expressed confidence that an amicable and lasting

solution would be found to the lingering dispute in the communities located on the boundaries of the two sister states.

According to a statement issued yesterday by the Special Assistant (Media) to the Deputy Governor, Odunayo Ogunmola, the peace parley was chaired by the DirectorGeneral of the National Boundary Commission, Mr. Adamu Adaji.

The two deputy governors, who signed a seven-point communique at the end of the one-day meeting, appealed to the affected boundary communities to give peace a chance and refrain from actions that could lead to breakdown of law and order among them.

governorship elections.

It also clarified that its visa processes are confidential, stressing that the US Government does not make public those already subjected to the sanction.

The US Ambassador to Nigeria, Mary Beth Leonard, disclosed this yesterday in Abuja at the end of the inaugural consular meeting with Nigeria officials to resolve the listing of Nigeria among countries placed on immigration restrictions.

Leonard stated: “The integrity of the election process is important to the fundamental trust of compact between

citizens and their government. It is fundamentally important, and that is why we are taking steps to internally identify people we believe can credibly be construed to have interfered in the process.

“The names of offenders would not be made public as US visa processes are in fact confidential, and so, we do not publish a list; we do not make public who it is that would be subjected to this sanction.

“An individual who intends to travel or apply for visa would be refused and impeded, but it is not something that we advertise. These individuals are those who had been involved

in election processes in Nigeria, and should reflect upon that notorious behaviour in this regards which may have consequences on their ability to travel to US.” On those who might have been denied, the ambassador explained that there are people that the US Government believes merit that treatment, stressing that should those people seek to travel or apply for visa, it would apply to them.

Also, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mustapha Sulaiman, said the country has fulfilled about 90 percent of the

requirement on the issues of information sharing, which had led to immigration restriction placed on the country.

He added that Nigeria is waiting for the outcome of the evaluation on the efforts put in place to address the various concerns raised by the US Government.

The President Donald Trump administration had on January 31, 2020, unveiled a new set of immigration restrictions on six African and Asian countries, including Nigeria, Eritrea, Sudan, Tanzania, Myanmar and Kyrgyzstan to the third version of its travel ban.

FOSTERING HEALTHY FINANCIAL SECTOR...

L-R: Registrar of Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN), Mr. Seye Awojobi; Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs. Zainab Ahmed; President of CIBN, Mr. Bayo Olugbemi; Managing Director of Ecobank, Mr. Patrick Akinwuntan; and 1st Vice President of CIBN, Dr. Ken Opara, during the 13th Annual Banking and Finance Conference in Abuja...recently

Flood Kills Nine Persons, Destroys 25,961 Houses in Katsina Francis Sardauna in Katsina The Katsina State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) has said flood has destroyed 25, 961 houses and rendered thousands of people homeless in 24 local government areas of the state.

The Public Relations Officer of the agency, Mr. Umar Babangida, who disclosed this in a chat with THISDAY yesterday, said nine persons,

mostly children, lost their lives in the disaster.

He said the flood orchestrated by the recent heavy downpour completely submerged 7,019 hectares of farmlands and communities in the affected local government areas.

Babangida enumerated the most affected councils to include Daura, Baure, Katsina, Batsari, Matazu, Kusada and Musawa, with 1,000 severe cases in the areas.

According to him, “Flood has affected almost all the 34 LGAs of the state, but the most affected ones with severe cases are Musawa, Daura, Katsina, Kusada, Matazu, Baure and Batsari. Also, 25,961 houses have been destroyed with nine deaths.”

He said the SEMA had officially notified the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and other humanitarian bodies about

the incident, and that the state government was doing everything humanly possible to assist the victims with relief materials.

Babangida added that the agency had commenced an enlightenment campaign to residents of the three senatorial zones of Daura, Katsina and Funtua on how to handle emergency situations and the dangers of building on water channels.

Judge Declines Application to Hear Debt Recovery Case The vacation judge at the Federal High Court in Lagos, Justice Nicholas Oweibo, yesterday refused an application seeking an urgent hearing in the debt recovery case filed by Assets Management Corporation of Nigeria against Everest Nominees Limited and Dr Bolaji Ogundare.

Justice Oweibo directed the parties to return on October 13 when the court

would have returned from its annual vacation.

The move for urgent hearing in the matter was aimed at lifting parts of a July 1, 2020 order of Justice Mohammed Liman of the same court, empowering AMCON to take over assets of Everest Nominees Limited over the firm’s alleged indebtedness.

Justice Liman’s interlocutory gave interim possession of the firm’s assets to AMCON’s

appointed receiver/manager, Mr Kunle Ogunba (SAN).

The judge ordered AMCON to take over several Oil Mining and Oil Prospecting Licences, such as OML 147, OML 152 and OML 98, belonging to Everest Nominees Limited.

The corporation was also empowered to take over several properties belonging to the firm in Lagos.

Some of such properties are 33B, Adebayo Doherty

Street, Lekki Phase I; FF Towers at Plot 13/14 Ligali Ayorinde Avenue, Victoria Island; No. 8, Modupe Alakija Crescent, Ikoyi; Grand Villa at No. 10/12, Modupe Alakija Crescent, Ikoyi; No. 14, Modupe Alakija Crescent, Ikoyi, Lagos; Ark Towers situate at No. 17, Ligalli Ayorinde Avenue, Victoria Island; Plot 5 and Plot 822, Samuel Manuwa Street, Victoria Island.

Killings: Famine Imminent in Nigeria, Says Akinrinade A former Chief of Defence Staff, Lt. Gen. Alani Akinrinade (rtd), has urged the President Muhammadu Buhari to find a permanent solution to the recurring clashes between herdsmen and farmers, and killings in the country.

He said this when the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai, visited Osun State to inaugurate projects at Kuta and Asamu.

Akinrinade warned that not putting an end to the killing of farmers in the country may lead to famine.

He said, “We are regaled every day with blood-chilling stories of killings and pillaging of villages, sometimes towns in the north and central parts of Nigeria, and of recent talks of impending massacres and intensification of kidnapping coming our way in the Southern States and the main

protagonists of the disturbance is the Fulani herdsmen.

“Sometimes, we are told that they are Fulani mercenaries from outside Nigeria being sponsored by our Nigerian brothers. The situation is so daring, that in collaboration with unexpected bad weather this year, a famine is imminent. We hear we are already borrowing grains from the ECOWAS countries, the immediate result of farmers being

forced to abandon their farms.

“I suggest to him to read the riot act to the Fulani herdsmen, that it is not acceptable for any foreigner by whatever name called to enter our country illegally and molest our people.

They are not welcome. We should not, by mistake of omission or commission allow our people to degenerate to self-help. It is a sure road to anarchy and perdition, which will not go away.”

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Outrage in Auchi over Alleged Plot by Edo Deputy Gov to Dethrone Otaru Davidson Iriekpen in Lagos and Adibe Emenyonu in Benin There is outrage in Auchi Kingdom in Edo State over alleged plot by the Deputy Governor of Edo State, Hon. Phillip Shaibu, to sanction the Otaru of Auchi, His Royal Highness, Alhaji A.H. Momoh.

The plot, which was allegedly hatched in 2018, was exposed by a leaked letter dated June 19, 2018 written by Shaibu to the Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, in which he allegedly preferred a charge of unwholesome conduct against the Otaru.

Sources close to the development said that although there had been no love lost between the Otaru and the deputy governor who is from Jattu, a neighbouring town to Auchi, the leaked letter has ignited a royal anger.

But in a reaction, the Chief Press Secretary to the deputy governor, Comrade Musah Ebomhiana told THISDAY that he cannot verify the authenticity or otherwise of the letter. He said the state is in election

period where any party can come up issues to blackmail another party.

Ebomhiana argued that the letter was supposed to be an official document meant for the governor’s attention.

According to him, the state government holds traditional rulers in high esteem and will not do anything to undermine or disrespect them.

In his reaction, the Otaru of Auchi, Alhaji Aliru Momoh, Ikelebe III, wondered why an issue that allegedly happened more two years ago should come up in the public domain at this period.

The Otaru who spoke through the Daniya of Auchi Kingdom, Alhaji Usman Abudah, told THISDAY that the narrative by the deputy governor was a complete twist of the facts.

He added that if not for the fact that his attention was drawn to the matter by the media, he would not have responded.

The Auchi royal father said since it was a letter that emanated from the office of the deputy governor and addressed to Governor Obaseki,

he would await the governor’s response by way of query or reprimand.

“I have not been queried by the governor and have not received any letter suggesting so,” the Otaru said.

However, concern has been raised that the plot may cause the Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) and Governor Godwin

Obaseki/Phillip Shaibu ticket a major setback in the form of protest votes by the Auchi people who account for substantial voter population in Edo North.

In the letter dated June 19, 2018, the deputy governor had complained to Obaseki about the “unwholesome way and manner the Otaru of Auchi, His

Royal Highness, Alhaji A.H. Momoh conducted himself on Saturday, June 16, 2018 at the Ikelebe Sports Arena, Auchi, a public field during the grand reception ceremony for the Executive Chairman of Etsako West Local Government Council, Hon. Yakubu O. Musa, which I attended and represented Your Excellency.”

According to the deputy governor: “I got to the venue of the ceremony while it was underway and while exchanging pleasantries round the dignitaries and traditional rulers/chiefs, I first noticed that the Otaru of Auchi refused to reciprocate when I stretched/ offered my hand to greet him.”

CONGRATULATIONS...

Accident Claims Six Lives in Ondo Lawan, Gbajabiamila Want Local Capacities Strengthened

L-R: 2020/2021 scholars of Africa Initiative for Governance (AIG), Adejoke Are; Murjanatu Audu; Chioma Oparadike; Victoria Udom; Folasade Osho; and Uchechukwu Nwokediuko, after their unveiling by the Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede-led AIG in Lagos ...recently

James Sowole in Akure Six persons were reportedly killed yesterday in an accident involving three vehicles at Isarun Junction near Igbaraoke, on Akure- Ilesha Road, in Ifedeore Local Government Area of Ondo State.

The details of the accident, was released last night by the Ondo State Command of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), in a signal message made available to journalists.

According to the FRSC, the affected vehicles were: White Colour Toyota Hiace Bus with Registration Number Lagos Epe 545 YS; a Yellow SINO Truck

marked Lagos BDG 252 XY and Toyota Corolla car with registration number, Lagos FST 768 DU. The FRSC said the accident may have been caused by loss of concentration or dangerous overtaking on the side of drivers.

The commission said 18 passengers were involved in the accident and out of which six comprising five male adults and one female adult were confirmed dead.

The FRSC said the remains of the dead victims, were deposited at the morgue, while those injured were taken to General Hospital, Igbaraoke for treatment.

Blasphemy: Sentencing of 13-yearold to 10 Years Imprisonment Wrong, UNICEF Tells Kano Kuni Tyessi in Abuja The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), has condemned the sentencing of a 13-year-old boy identified as Omar Farouq to 10 years’ imprisonment over alleged blasphemy by a Sharia Court in Kano.

Farouq was sentenced with menial labour by the Kano State Sharia Court at Feli Hockey after he was convicted of blasphemy on August 10, 2020.

Reacting to the development, the global organisation in a statement issued yesterday quoted its Nigerian Representative, Peter Hawkins, as saying that the action of the court was wrong.

It called on the “Nigerian Government and the Kano State Government to urgently review the case with a view to reversing the sentence.

“UNICEF has expressed deep concern over the sentencing of a 13-year-old Omar Farouq to

10 years’ imprisonment with menial labour by the Kano State Sharia Court at Feli Hockey.”

The statement read further: “The sentencing of this child to 10 years in prison with menial labour is wrong. It also negates all cores underlying principles of child rights and child justice that Nigeria, and by implication, Kano State, has signed on to.

“The sentence is in contravention of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, which Nigeria ratified in 1991. It is also a violation of the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, which Nigeria ratified in 2001, and Nigeria’s Child Rights Act 2003, which domesticates Nigeria’s international obligations to protect children’s right to life, survival and development.”

UNICEF, therefore, called on the Nigerian Government and the Kano State Government to urgently review the case with a view to reversing the sentence.

Deji Elumoye in Abuja President of the Senate, Dr. Ahmad Lawan, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon Femi Gbajabiamila, have canvassed for the strengthening of local capacities for Nigerian economy to experience rapid growth.

The duo made the submission

yesterday while declaring open a two-day virtual Nigerian Content Summit jointly organised by the Senate Committee on Local Content and House Committees on Content Development and Monitoring.

Lawan, in his remarks, emphasised that the improvement of local capacities has become imperative against

the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic.

He underscored the need to develop the country’s local capacities, saying: “We need to also appreciate that our social and economic conditions need continuous reviews for development, with a good quantum of home-grown fundamentals, and especially

considering the new realities brought by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The pandemic reminds us of the need for resource independence, the strengthening of local capacity, and the importance of increasing indigenous variables in the oil and gas production, and in other areas.

Northern Coalition Vows to Protest over Alleged Release of Zamfara Bandit Leader, 17 Others Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja The Coalition of Northern Group (CNG) has vowed to embark on a massive protest next Monday following the alleged release of a suspected bandit leader along with 17 other suspects in Gusau by the Zamfara State Police Command.

The group also said it would

resist shielding of bandits and collaborators from prosecution.

The spokesperson of the group, Mr. Abdul-Azeez Suleiman, stated this yesterday while addressing a press conference in Abuja, where he revealed that on September 2, 2020, intelligence intercepted an arranged meeting between one Abu Dantabawa and a

suspected bandit leader in Gusau.

He said: “On September 3, 2020, detectives raided the rendezvous and arrested the said Abu Dantabawa along with 17 other suspects.

“On September 4, the Zamfara State Police Command set the principal suspect, Dantabawa, free ostensibly

owing to pressure from powerful influencers from the seat of power who are keen on blocking the prosecution.”

The coalition, therefore, demanded the immediate rearrest and return to custody of Dantabawa and all other suspected collaborators for proper investigation and appropriate prosecution.

PDP Welcomes UK’s Visa Ban on Election Riggers Chuks Okocha in Abuja The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) yesterday said it supported the decision of the United Kingdom to impose visa ban as well as seizure of assets and properties belonging to those involved in undermining the electoral process, particularly ahead of the Edo and Ondo States governorship elections.

The party in a statement issued by the National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, said: “Our party commends the UK for its quick response along with the United States in the global efforts to stop the unbridled electoral fraud being perpetrated by leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and their compromised Independent National Electoral

Commission (INEC) and security officials.

“With the emerging global action, our party reiterates our call to other countries such as the United Arab Emirates, France, Spain, Canada as well as African countries and the ECOWAS member states to impose similar sanctions on these unscrupulous elements and their family members.”

The statement noted that the PDP, being the genuine pan-Nigeria political platform standing with the Nigerian people, urged the global community to profile the election riggers and their agents in INEC and security agencies and ban their family members from benefiting from services from other countries of the world.

Plateau Govt, PDP Bicker over Alleged Misappropriation of N45bn Loan Seriki Adinoyi in Jos The Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) in Plateau State has accused State’s Governor, Mr. Simon Lalong of the All Progressive Congress (APC) of squandering N45billion since 2015 when he was first elected into office without anything to show for it.

The opposition party, in a statement made available to the press on yesterday, assured that Lalong would regret his actions at the end of his tenure in 2023.

The statement, which was signed by the State Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Mr. John Akans, said the party was vindicated by wanton of allegations of corruption and

incompetence leveled against the governor by a splinter group within his own party the APC, indicating that the governor has truly failed woefully to bring good governance to the people.

The PDP said that its long held position of total failure of the Governor is now being echoed more loudly by the APC’s ‘Plateau Rescue Front

(PRF) when the group boldly and patriotically made public a letter to the governor, which alleged that the governor is inefficient..

The statement added: “Three months in office, Lalong took loans worth N18bn from some commercial banks but covered it up as loans he inherited from previous administrations.

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El-Rufai Signs Law Prescribing Castration for Rapists in Kaduna John Shiklam in Kaduna The Kaduna State Governor, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, has signed into law the amended Kaduna State Penal Code (Amendment) Law 2020, which updated the penalties for the offence of the rape of a child.

A statement issued last night by the governor’s spokesman, Mr. Muyiwa Adekeye, said the new provisions of the law, “include the punishments of surgical castration and bilateral salpingectomy for male and female convicts of child rape and death.”

The statement said “in addition, such convicts will be listed in the Sex Offenders Register to be published by the Attorney-General of the state.

“Following Malam El-Rufai’s assent to the amended law on September 11, 2020, the new law has come into effect in Kaduna state.

“It introduces stricter punishments than the previous law, which carried a maximum penalty of 21 years imprisonment for the rape of an adult and life imprisonment

for the rape of a child,” the statement said.

The statement further explained that “under the amended law, the punishment for the rape of a person older than 14 years will include surgical castration or removal of fallopian tubes, but the death penalty shall not apply.

“In cases where the rape convict is also a child, the court shall order an appropriate punishment under the Children and Young Persons Law Cap 26, Laws of Kaduna State 1991”.

The statement commended members of the Kaduna State House of Assembly for passing the amendments, stressing that these drastic penalties are required to help further protect children from a serious crime.

Muyiwa stated that: “The Kaduna State Penal Code (Amendment) Law 2020 amends the Penal Code Law (No.5) of Kaduna State, 2017 by substituting section 258 as follows : “Whoever commits rape of a child below the age 14 years shall on conviction, be punished with Surgical Castration and

death.

“Whoever has sexual intercourse with a male child below the age of fourteen years shall be punished with surgical castration and death.

“Where a female adult is

convicted for the offence of rape of a child, the court shall punish the accused with Bilateral Salpingectomy and death.

The law also provides that “where the victim is above 14 years, the court shall on

conviction sentence the accused with a punishment of surgical castration and life imprisonment.

“Where the convict is a child, the court shall order as appropriate under the Children and Young Person Law Cap

26 Laws of Kaduna State 1991.

“Where the victim is a child, the court shall in addition to the conviction, order that the convict be listed in the Sex Offenders Register to be published by the Attorney General.

PROVIDING SUCCOUR TO THE NEEDY...

L-R: Secretary to the Oyo State Government, Mrs. Olubamiwo Adeosun; wife of the governor, Mrs. Tamunominini Makinde; wife of the deputy governor, Prof. Bolanle Olaniyan; and a beneficiary/widow, Mrs. Juliana Ayandeji, during the 2020 International Widow’s Day celebration at the Government House, Agodi, Ibadan...yesterday

Winners Emerge in Glo Rewards Cashtoken Promo NIMC Registers 42m Winners have emerged across said “We congratulate the winners a Kaduna-based farmer, who of millions of Nigerians that country in the on-going and promise to continue to picked N20,000 as prize and participated in the promo. I Nigerians in NIN Exercise the Glo Rewards Cashtoken, provide different empowerment Benson Polycab from Igueben, never believed that I will win.

Oghenevwede Ohwovoriole in Abuja The Director-General of the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), Mr. Aliyu Aziz, has declared that 42 million Nigerians have been captured by the NIMC in the ongoing National Identity Number (NIN) exercise, which is being carried out under the unique digital national identification programme.

Aziz, who disclosed this yesterday in Abuja during the second edition of the National Identity Day celebration, said the exercise would help to curb insecurity by enabling security agencies to tap into the commission’s database to identify individuals.

The theme of this year’s celebration was tagged “Identity for Health, Sustainable Development and Growth.”

The NIMC boss emphasised that the NIN is for all residents in Nigeria as it does not confer

citizenship on anyone.

He said that the NIMC has been able to harmonise 11 million out of 14 million records the commission got from the Central Bank of Nigeria on Nigerians with Bank Verification Number, adding that the harmonisation exercise would be extended to the National Pension Commission, the Nigeria Immigration Service, the Federal Road Safety Commission and the Nigeria Communication Commission.

“If you have data, then you can intelligently utilise your data and if all your databases are talking to each other you can drive a lot of intelligence from that data; that is the only way that we can resolve the issue of insecurity,” he said.

Aziz noted that the commission is celebrating 16th September as National Identity Day in collaboration with the global agitation for the day to be formally declared as world international identity day.

PDP Condemns APC’s Attack on Jegede Chuks Okocha in Abuja The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Campaign Council for the Ondo State governorship election yesterday condemned the attack on its governorship candidate, Eyitayo Jegede, by men in the convoy of the state Governor Rotimi Akeredolu, in which PDP members were allegedly severely wounded and the PDP campaign vehicles vandalised.

The PDP National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, while addressing a press conference at the national secretariat of the party, alleged “that the attack by APC assailants with the governor reportedly in the convoy, confirmed that the state governor is mortally afraid of Jegede as a result of his soaring popularity and now

seeks every means to scuttle the decision of the people to elect him (Jegede) on October 10. He said it is indeed unfortunate that Akeredolu would opt to tread such path, as already confirmed by the self-confessed APC militant and former APC chairman in Ondo State, Isaac Kekemeke, who openly boasted that the governor was behind the violent attacks against the candidate and campaign in the state.

Evidently, he said the governor and his party “are intimidated

by Jegede’s soaring rating as well as the warm reception he has been receiving from leaders and groups across the state, and had to attack him in Oba Akoko, where he was received by the highly revered Oloba of Oba, Oba Nathaniel Adegoroye.”

an empowerment promo packaged exclusively by National Telecommunications Company, Globacom for its subscribers.

The winners who emerged from the cities of Lagos, Port Harcourt, Abuja, Calabar, and Kaduna, as well as Warri, Ilorin, Igueben, Edo State and Ibadan, have already been presented with their prizes In a press statement released in Lagos on Monday, Globacom

opportunities from time to time, in which they will benefit from the network” Among the winners are Anthony Iyemi from Warri, who smiled home with N100,000, a Civil Engineering student of Cross River State University, William Ubi who won N200,000; Sarah Sadiq, a student of Ogun State Institute of Technology, Igbesa, N20,000, Mohammed Tijani,

Edo State who also won N20,000.

Ayomide Ibukun, a 300 level student of Marketing at the Ekiti State University also went home with N20,0000 as prize as well as Ugochi Nwabiokeze, a businesswoman in Onelga, Port Harcourt who also won 20,000.

A business centre operator in Warri, Anthony Iyemi in an emotion-laden voice said “It’s a thing of joy that I won out

I’ve always been using Glo network, and I especially enjoy the Glo Cafe.” According to him, I used the money to buy phone, laminating machine and binding machine which I don’t have in my Business Center before. Now I have expanded my business courtesy of Glo. It’s my reward time and I pray that Glo will continue to grow from glory to glory.”

Delta to Reopen Tertiary Institutions on October 2 The Delta State Government has confirmed that academic activities will return to tertiary institutions across the state on October 2, 2020, following months of closure to contain the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Speaking with journalists yesterday, the state Commissioner for Higher Education, Prof.

Patrick Muoboghare, explained that students will resume in

phases in conformity with the new protocols in respect of the COVID-19 outbreak in the country. The commissioner hinted that the resumption date does not apply to Federal tertiary institutions in the state.

But he charged the returning students to comply with COVID-19 protocols in line with the directives of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control.

He said, “we have agreed to reopen on October 2nd immediately after the Independence Day celebration.

Each institution is to work out its own programme to fall within the time frame given.

“This applies to all tertiary institutions under the Delta State Ministry of Higher Education. This doesn’t apply to federal institutions. Federal

institutions are not included in this arrangement. They are controlled by the Federal Ministry of Education.”

When asked if all students will be allowed to resume at the same time, the commissioner said, “It is very obvious that resumption will be in phases.

The schools will work out their own arrangements but within October 2.

CCB Decries Public Office Holders’ Low Compliance with Assets Declaration Code Kingsley Nwezeh in Abuja The Chairman of the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB), Professor Isah Mohammed, has decried the poor level of compliance of public office holders to assets declaration.

Mohammed attributed the poor compliance to the fear of the unknown.

This is coming as the Chief

of Defence Staff, General Abayomi Olonisakin, has said that military personnel holding positions of responsibility must be accountable.

Isah, who spoke at a Two-day workshop on “Strict Compliance with Provisions of the Code of Conduct for Public Officers and Officers of the Armed Forces of Nigeria,” that was held at the Defence Headquarters in Abuja,

said: “It is the strong belief of the bureau that when top public functionaries of government are well aware and abide by these codes of conduct for public officers, the need for the application of punitive measures would be minimised to the lowest ebb if not eliminated, thereby reducing the resources expended on prosecution of cases.”

The CCB boss said the bureau

was empowered to ensure compliance with 14 codes of conduct for public officers.

“It may interest you to know that assets declaration is only one out of the 14 codes the bureau enforces.

“Conversely, assets declaration is most talked about and known function of the CCB, compliance level from public officers is not encouraging.”

UNILAG Visitation Panel Concludes Investigation The Special Visitation Panel set up by the federal government to look into the crisis at the University of Lagos (UNILAG) has concluded its investigation and set to submit a report of its findings to the Minister of Education, Mallam Adamu Adamu.

A media invitation from the

Federal Ministry of Education, by its Director of Press and Public Relations, Ben Bem Goong, said the panel will submit the report to the minister.

The government had set up the panel to look into the crisis rocking UNILAG, following the earlier removal of its ViceChancellor, Prof. Oluwatoyin

Ogundipe, by its governing council.

Adamu, who had inaugurated the panel headed by Prof.

Tukur Sa’ad, however, warned members against interference with the activities of UNILAG management.

He urged “stakeholders in the University of Lagos to fully

cooperate with the panel and to allow it to work unhindered.”

“I am confident that, as members, you will bring to bear your expertise in university administration in the discharge of this task, in order to bring the institution back to the path of progress and greatness,” he had said.

46

THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 17, 2020 ˾ T H I S D AY

THURSDAYSPORTS

Group Sports Editor Duro Ikhazuagbe Email duro.ikhazuagbe@thisdaylive.com 0811 181 3083 SMS ONLY

Former IAAF President, Diack, Found Guilty of Corruption, Jailed Lamine Diack, the ex-head of athletics’ governing body, has been jailed after being found guilty of corruption.

The Senegalese, 87, faced

corruption and money-laundering charges linked to the Russian doping scandal.

Diack was convicted of accepting bribes from athletes

Nwakali: Visa Problems Almost Derailed My Career Olawale Ajimotokan

After overcoming initial paperworks that kept his on the sideline for almost six months, Nigerian midfielder, Kelechi Nwakali has put that nightmare behind, starting his career with Spanish LaLiga clubside, Huesca.

Speaking with BBC Sports yesterday, the former FIFA Under-17 World Cup top scorer, revealed that initial visa problems almost scuttled his promising career.

The 22-year-old was a 63rd minute substitute in newly-promoted Huesca’s 1-1 draw at Samuel Chukwueze’s Villareal on Sunday as the

Kelechi Nwakali played his first game in the Spanish topflight against Villarreal on Sunday

new La Liga season kicked off.

Both Nwakali and Chukwueze were teammates in the Golden Eaglets squad led by Emmanuel Amuneke that won that edition in 2015 in Chile.

Nwakali spent much of his time since August 2018 battling visa issues which have limited his chances to play.

Problems with red-tape and a lack of playing time while on loan from English side Arsenal to Portuguese club Porto left him very low on confidence.

“There was a time, I was having doubt in myself, I wondered if I was not up to it anymore,” he told BBC Sport Africa.

“It was difficult mentally for me but my mind was made up, that I had to leave.”

He however secured a move to Spanish side Huesca in August last year from Arsenal but once again red-tape prevented him from playing.

Instead he was forced to sit-out the first six month of his contract in Nigeria trying to secure the documentation that he needed.

It led to accusations from some in Nigeria that he ‘spent more time posting images on social media than actually playing football.’

Utaka, 36, to Be Crowned ‘Goal King’ in Japan Nigerian international, Peter Utaka, looks set to be crowned the Goal King in Japan even at the grand old age of 36 years.

‘Manpo’ as Utaka is fondly called, now plays for J-League 2 side Kyoto Sanga, where he comfortably sits atop the scorer’s chart with 13 goals.

According to Scorenigeria. com.ng, his closest rival is Takuma Abe of Ryukyu with nine goals halfway through the season.

He was even within touching distance of claiming the top scorer’s award at Ventforet Kofu last season with 21 goals, eight goals

Peter Utaka...enjoying his game in the J-League 2

fewer than the eventual winner, Leonardo of Albitrex FC. ‘Manpo’ attributes are rare and he’s reputed to be one of the calmest strikers in the 18yard box, an edge he possesses over many.

J-League 1, reputed to invest mainly in Brazilian players, was his first destination in Japan and Shimizu S-Pulse welcomed the one of the two Africans in the league in the 2015 season but it was at Sanfreece Hiroshima that he won his fourth top scorer’s award with 19 goals the following season.

‘Manpo’ has mastered the art of goal scoring so much that he will always deliver the goodies where he plays, save for the Danish second-tier side, Vejle, where he didn’t score in just six appearances.

It appears Manpo’s ship has been on cruise control in Asia since he arrived at Dalian Aerbin at 2012/13 season from Denmark’s OB Odense, where he emerged the top scorer in his second season.

He would launch his sweet Asian adventure at Dalian with 20 goals in his first season to finish the third top scorer, but it was in the Chinese FA Cup that he continued his top-scoring acts.

suspected of doping to cover up test results and letting them continue competing, including in the 2012 London Olympics.

He was sentenced to four years in prison, two of them suspended.

Diack’s lawyers said he would be appealing against the judgement, which they called “unfair and inhumane”.

Diack, who was also given a maximum fine of 500,000 euros (£456,928), was investigated by French authorities for four years

over claims he took payments of more than 3m euros to cover up cheating. The judge said his actions had “undermined the values of athletics and the fight against doping”.

Diack has been under house arrest in Paris since November 2015.

Previously one of the most influential figures in world sport, Diack was president of the International Association of Athletics’ Federations - now World

Athletics - for 16 years until he was replaced by Britain’s Lord Coe in August 2015.

Diack’s son Papa Massata Diack - who was banned for life from athletics in 2016 - was sentenced to five years in prison and a given a 1m euros fine (£913,850).

Before the judgement yesterday, Papa Massata Diack had addressed a press conference in Dakar, Senegal where he claimed himself and his father were the victims of an “Anglo-Saxon

conspiracy”.

He criticised the French authorities prior to the verdict in their corruption trial.

Papa Massata further claimed he opted not to travel to France as the courts in the country “lack impartiality”.

“To submit to French justice is to put myself at the disposal of my enemies,” Papa Massata, who remains under an international arrest warrant issued on February 13, added.

Lamine Diack (right) shortly after he was found guilty of corruption charges and jailed yesterday in Paris

Pinnick’s Foundation Takes over Education of Late Abe’s Children Brownhill Foundation, the Foundation of President of the Nigeria Football Federation, Amaju Melvin Pinnick will henceforth be responsible for the educational needs of the two most senior children of the late NFF Head of ICT, Tolulope Abe. Making this pledge on a visit to the late Abe’s residence in Kubwa, Abuja on Wednesday, Pinnick said similar arrangements would also be made for the other three children once they gain admission into higher institutions.

“Brownhill Foundation will

start with the two children who are in the university already, and subsequently the Foundation will be ready to extend these to the other children once they enter higher institutions of learning.

“We are all very much pained by Tolulope Abe’s death. He was a very dedicated and loyal staff and will be very difficult to replace. He had very useful institutional experience and was also very committed and proficient in his job. Such men are at a premium. We will sorely miss him. He belonged to the category of individuals who believe in giving their

very best to the success of their organizations.

“This family will never be abandoned. Whatever we can do for the other children before they get to higher institutions of learning, we will. That is the least we can do for a wonderful individual and member of staff like Tolulope Abe.” Also speaking during the visit, First Vice President of the NFF, Seyi Akinwunmi said he was devastated by news of Tolulope’s passing and would only be ready and willing to assist the family in whichever way he could going forward.

The late Tolulope’s wife, Omobolanle and his aged mother expressed appreciation to the NFF President and his team for the kind gestures.

Also with the NFF President during the visit were Ademola Olajire (NFF’s Director of Media and Communications); Chikelue Iloenyosi (SA to NFF President), Ayo Olu-Ibidapo and Munnir Shittu (Staff of the NFF Communications Department).

The remains of Tolulope Abe, who died on Saturday, 29th August 2020, was committed to mother earth in Abuja last Saturday.

MultiChoice Unveils Sport Channels, Content Line-up on DSTv, GOtv Leading video entertainment company, MultiChoice Nigeria, has unveiled its new sport channels and content line-up for the remainder of the year 2020.

The unveiling, which also featured the announcement of local and international entertainment, documentaries, reality and kiddies’ programming to be aired in 2020, occurred recently at the virtual MultiChoice Nigeria Showcase 2020.

Chief Customer Officer of MultiChoice Nigeria, Martin

Mabutho, said the pay-TV company is pleased to broadcast to Nigerians the very best of football from international football leagues such as the Premier League, La Liga, Serie A, UEFA Champions League, Emirates FA Cup and others for the 2020/2021 season to both DStv and GOtv subscribers.

He also noted that American sport channel, ESPN, has returned to DStv after some years’ hiatus, adding that the channel will also be on GOtv Max and will showcase the best of the NBA (National Basketball

Association), NFL (National Football League), Major League Baseball (MLB), MLS (Major League Soccer) and other sports to subscribers.

Also on ESPN, sport fans will also have access to the English Football League (EFL), Major League Soccer (MLS), Scottish Premier Football League (SPFL) and Dutch Eredivisie, which are available to DStv and GOtv Max customers, while DStv customers have access to NBA games on ESPN 2.

“Nobody has more sport content than us,” Mabutho

boasted.

Also speaking via a prerecorded message, Chief Executive Officer of SuperSport, Gideon Khobane, explained the reason behind the recent change of channel system on the various SuperSport channels.

Khobane said the change from the numbering channel system to a thematic channel system was to enable DStv and GOtv subscribers easily access and watch their preferred sporting events via specific channels dedicated to different sports.

47

THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 17, 2020 ˾ T H I S D AY

ThursdaySPORTS T R A N S F E R N E W S …T R A N S F E R N E W S …

Aston Villa Sign Arsenal Goalkeeper Aston Villa have signed goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez from fellow Premier League side Arsenal for £17m.

The 28-year-old Argentine, who made 23 appearances last season and played in the Gunners’ FA Cup final win over Chelsea, has signed a

Bale’s Agent Says Madrid Exit Closer Gareth Bale is closer to leaving Real Madrid now than at any time during his seven years at the Spanish club, according to his agent.

Jonathan Barnett told BBC Wales Sport talks over a move back to Tottenham are “slowly progressing”.

Spurs boss Jose Mourinho refused to speculate on the talks on Wednesday.

Bale, 31, left Spurs to join Real for a then-world record £85m in 2013 and has since scored more than 100 goals and won four Champions League titles.

In July 2019, Real Madrid cancelled a deal for Bale to join Chinese Super League club Jiangsu Suning, with the player spending last season at the Bernabeu, playing 20 games.

Barnett said on Wednesday: “Gareth is closer to leaving Madrid than at any time in last seven years.

“We are still negotiating.

We shall see how it goes.”

It remains to be seen whether the potential deal will be a loan or a permanent move for Bale.

When asked about the Wales captain, Mourinho replied: “He is a Real Madrid player and I don’t comment on players from other clubs. I have to respect that. It’s better not to speak.

“I tried to sign him for Real Madrid, which was not possible to do during my time there.

But the president followed my instinct and my knowledge and the season I left he brought Gareth to the club. It’s not a secret, even Gareth knows that.

“A squad is a puzzle and when a new signing completes the puzzle it’s great for the team.

“There are three more weeks, the market is open both ways.

I think in football you have to always be waiting for something to happen. Let’s see what happens to us,” added Mourinho, who was in charge of Real Madrid from 2010-2013.

The Portuguese previously told Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy that he “needs a striker” before 5 October.

Tottenham were beaten 1-0 at home by Everton in their first game of the new Premier League season on Sunday.

Gareth Bale...closer to return to Spurs

Djokovic Wins First Match After Disqualification from US Open Novak Djokovic returned to action after his US Open disqualification with a convincing second-round win over Salvatore Caruso at the Italian Open yesterday.

Djokovic, 33, beat wildcard Caruso 6-3 6-2 in Rome to begin his French Open preparations on a positive note.

The world number one wasdisqualified in New Yorkafter accidentally hitting a line judge with a ball during a match against Pablo Carreno Busta. Action in the main draw at Roland Garros begins on 27 September.

Before the Italian Open, Djokovic said he must “move on”from the controversy at Flushing Meadows - but added that he may never forget the incident.

The Serb also vowed to be

“the best version” of himself on and off the court and he kept his emotions in check to defeat Italian Caruso in one hour 24 minutes.Fourtime Italian Open champion Djokovic, who received an opening-round bye, broke Caruso’s serve in the eighth game before serving out the opening set.

Caruso, who overcame American Tennys Sandgren in the opening round for his first ATP Masters 1000 match win, dropped his serve in the second set’s third game, which lasted nearly 12 minutes.

Top seed Djokovic proved too strong for the home hopeful and broke his opponent for a third time in the match before celebrating victory by blowing kisses to the empty stands at the Foro Italico.

four-year deal.

Villa manager Dean Smith said Martinez will be a “key player for our club for the long term”.

“It is rare to be able to buy a top-class goalkeeper who hasn’t yet reached their

peak age,” he added.

“We know how highly Arsenal rated him and we watched his outstanding performances last season in a trophy-winning, top side.”

Martinez leaves Arsenal

10 years after joining as a youth team player in 2010.

Gunners manager Mikel Arteta decided Bernd Leno would be his first choice this season and the German started Arsenal’s Premier League opener on Saturday

- a 3-0 victory at Fulham.

He is Villa’s third recruit of the summer after striker Ollie Watkins signed from Brentford for a club record fee and right-back Matty Cash arrived from Nottingham Forest.

Emilio Martinez dumps Arsenal for Aston Villa

Young, Holder of Oldest Men’s Track World Record, Donates Singlet to Heritage To mark his 54th birthday yesterday, American Kevin Young, who has held the men’s 400m hurdles world record since 1992, generously donated to the Heritage Collection the UCLA singlet which he wore when running into the international spotlight in 1988.

Young had signalled his talent on the international circuit in 1987, winning in Lausanne in a personal best of 48.15 but it was the following year when he made more substantial strides. In his fourth year as a student at UCLA, he broke 48 seconds four times.

The breakthrough came on 3 June at the NCAA Championships in Eugene when Young lowered his personal best by 0.3 seconds to 47.85. It was a performance which was rewarded with a cover photo of the July 1988 edition of Track & Field News, with the headline “Kevin Young - UCLA Hurdle Ace”.

Again, wearing the same singlet which he has donated to the Heritage Collection, Young was a member of the UCLA quartet which 24 hours later clocked 2:59.91 in the 4x400m relay, the first collegiate quartet ever to break three minutes in the event.

Kevin Young...holds track’s longest world record in 400m hurdles

The following month Young improved to 47.72 in Indianapolis to secure the third spot on the USA squad for the Olympic Games in Seoul. Then on 17 August he came within 0.02 of that lifetime best in a dead heat with Danny Harris in Zurich. The two men were inseparable in the photo-finish, each credited with 47.74. Then in the Seoul final, Young clocked 47.94 to finish just outside of the medals.

“I’m honoured to contribute my UCLA singlet to the World Athletics Heritage Collection to help tell the history of our sport to generations of fans to come,” Young said. “That 1988 season

was an important part of my development to becoming an Olympic and world champion. I’d broken through the previous year, but it was my performances in Eugene which signalled I was a true contender for global glory.”

Four years later in Barcelona, on 6 August 1992, Young became Olympic champion and world recordholder with his astounding 46.78 performance, the first ever sub-47 second race. His time still stands and is the oldest existing men’s track world record.

It is also a performance which seemed unapproachable until last year.

In 2019, Karsten Warholm (46.92), Abderrahman Samba

and Rai Benjamin (both 46.98) demonstrated that Young’s historic world mark was living on borrowed time.

On 14 August 2020, when attending the Wanda Diamond League meeting in Monaco, Young took the opportunity to hand over his UCLA singlet to the Heritage Collection. On that night he witnessed a scintillating 47.10 solo run from Warholm.

In Stockholm nine days later, the Norwegian, despite clipping the last hurdle, came tantalisingly close to Young’s world record with 46.87. That improved the second fastest performance of all-time which he already held.

More recently, Warholm, at 24 already a two-time world champion, continued to illustrate strong form, clocking 47.08 at Berlin’s ISTAF meeting.

Speaking on the eve of the Rome Diamond League meeting, which will witness Warholm’s latest attempt at the record, Young said, “It’s about time the record went. Warholm, along with Samba and Benjamin, are more than capable of breaking, perhaps even destroying my record. What a lot of people forget is in Barcelona I knocked over the last hurdle. They just need to judge the pace of the race better.”

Thursday, September 17, 2020

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MISSILE Zainab Abiola to Ayo Salami â&#x20AC;&#x153;The panel was set up to be public. How then did it become a private sitting with Emperor Salami? He told me personally that there is only one chair for a lawyer. So I said, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;if there is only one chair, send for more chairsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;. He called the DSS; they were fully armedâ&#x20AC;Śthe other lady, Fatimah, was bundled and put in a prison cellâ&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Counsel to the suspended acting EFCC chairman, Ibrahim Magu, on the Salami probe panel.

OLUSEGUNADENIYI Kebbi Disaster and the Hippopotamus THE VERDICT

olusegun.adeniyi@thisdaylive.com

R

esidents of Zaria Kalakala in Koko-Besse local government, Kebbi State, were still counting their losses from the flood that washed away their farmlands and destroyed their houses when they were confronted by a huge hippopotamus that had strayed out of the water to scavenge. Rather than go for their guns or other assault weapons as most often happens in such situations in the country, they helped the semiaquatic mammal back to its natural habitat (see video).

That hippopotamus was fortunate. In August 2011, a national newspaper carried a front page photograph of a hunter named Alhaji Maman Musa, sitting atop a hippopotamus he killed on River Niger. Four years later in 2015, another was shot dead in controversial circumstances at Dadinkowa dam by hunters in Gombe State.

And in February 2017, it was in Abaji area council of Abuja that a hippopotamus met its death. In each of these situations, mobs descended on the scene with cutting implements to harvest portions of free meat that the late American hunter and writer, Peter Hathaway Capstick, once romanticized as â&#x20AC;&#x153;one of the finest of game foods â&#x20AC;Ś The taste is mild, less than lamb and more than beef, slightly more marbled than usual venison.â&#x20AC;?

It is comforting that even in their moment of distress, Zaria Kalakala villagers understood the threat posed to the natural ecosystem from acute depletion of animals such as hippopotamus.

We will come back to the lesson that teaches, but the story of the stranded Hippopotamus at Zaria Kalakala is perhaps the only bright spot in the monumental natural disaster that has in recent weeks befallen Kebbi State.

In towns and villages in no fewer than 11 local governments, including Birnin Kebbi, Argungu, Bunza, Suru, Koko-Besse, Yauri, Shanga, Bagudo, Maiyama, Jega and Dandi, thousands of people have been rendered homeless and almost destitute. Five bridges located in different parts of the state have also been washed away by the raging flood that has cut off several communities along the River Niger Bank. Having spent almost 24 hours in the state on an energy-sapping trip last weekend, the scale of the damage I witnessed is enormous.

Last Thursday, following calls from friends who shared stories of the flooding that had sacked several communities in their state, I reached out to Governor Atiku Bagudu for more information. He responded by telling me I would not understand the enormity of the damage unless I visited the state. Since he was in Abuja to brief the president, he proposed that I join him on the Friday afternoon (Azman airlines) flight to Birnin Kebbi. When I hesitated, he told me I could return by Saturday on the flight that would bring the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Mohammed Sanunu, who was coming to inspect the damage.

We arrived the state at about 2.30PM last Friday and, after a quick lunch, set out to tour the affected areas. We did not return to the state capital until midnight. What I saw on that trip to the southern part of the state, stretching more than 300 kilometres, was heartrending. As we journeyed from Birnin Kebbi along the Bagudo-Tuga-Kaoje route, which leads to the border with the Republic of Benin, we encountered a long line of refugees who had been forced to move to

Kebbi Governor, Bagudu the roadside with their families and whatever remained of their possessions. The journey terminated at the Tuga Bridge that is now submerged, cutting off border communities and access to the critical River Niger bridge that links the two countries. Although many schools were being converted to makeshift Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camps, it was evident that the expertise to deal with the emergency was sorely lacking. The people I encountered resembled victims of war. I saw a girl who straddled a goat on her back like a baby - perhaps the only possession the family could rescue before the flood took over their settlement.

At Kende Bridge, we came down from the vehicle and trekked to a village about two kilometres away. That enabled us to more clearly witness the devastation. More than half of Bagudo township had been consumed by water (flood). Villages including Soshiya, Saki jiki, Tungar Zaga, Tungar Gyara, Tungar Himo, Bidiwi, Tungar Rini, Yuna Babba Da karama, Tuga, Marake, Kende and others can also now be accessed only by wooden boats that litter the place. Schools have been converted to IDP camps and are swarming with hundreds of men, women and children.

The Kebbi State Emergency Management Authority (KSEMA) chairman, Alhaji Sani Dododo, put the number of death at 32 persons. According to the president of the

Kebbi Farmers Association, 450,000 hectares of the 500,000 hectares of farmland swept away are on the rice belt. The remaining 50 hectares grow soya beans, millet, maize, groundnut and guinea corn.

At every location, Bagudu would alight from his vehicle, speak with the people, ask for their immediate needs and then detail officials to stay and attend to them. When night fell, at every one of the stops, six vehicles (three on either side) would put on their headlamps for illumination while the governor stood in the middle to address the flood victims. But the scale of the damage is overwhelming.

In addition to houses, schools and hospitals being submerged, the Bagudo prison was also overtaken by water, forcing the relocation of inmates to Birnin Kebbi correctional facility.

Last Friday night, I could sleep only for a few hours. By next morning, I went ahead of Bagudu (who had to receive the minister of agriculture at the airport) to Argungu for a scheduled appointment with the Emir, HRH Alhaji Samaila Muhammadu Mera. He shared with me harrowing tales from fishing communities in the northern part of the state that borders Sokoto. â&#x20AC;&#x153;As farmers, what we have experienced is total devastation both for crops and fishes. Rice farmlands have been wiped off and we have lost practically all the fish farms,â&#x20AC;? lamented the Emir. â&#x20AC;&#x153;But the greater challenge is that many people are now homeless. Go and see all our schools, they are brimming with displaced people,â&#x20AC;? he told me shortly before receiving the visiting Sanono who came with his team from Abuja to inspect the damage.

The rage of nature in Kebbi is monumental because it came from both the north and south. On the northern axis, the BirninKebbi-Makera-Kangiwa international highway, which runs from the state capital to Niger Republic, currently stands the risk of caving in at Duku. At Makera bridge last Saturday, Bagudu showed Sanunu and his team the extent of destruction to farmlands within the Argungu precincts. He also explained what caused the damage. Being in a valley, Kebbi State was at the receiving end of the water from Goronyo and Bakolori dams in Sokoto as well as water from the River Niger released by authorities of Niger Republic. Meanwhile, the dams in Jebba and Kainji have attained their highest water levels in three decades and a deluge of rain resulted in surrounding

Not only is our population growth rate outstripping our resources and productivity, we are not planning any projection on how many mouths we will feed in the years to come. That some villagers in Kebbi understand the signiďŹ cance of wildlife protection shows that all is not lost. It is something we should build upon even as we deal with the immediate challenge of havoc wreaked by ďŹ&#x201A;oods on lives and livelihoods

rivers and streams overflowing their banks.

The water from River Rima that comes to join River Niger moves uphill as it approaches the tributary in the southern part of Kebbi because of siltation. This, combined with a period of heavy downpours, has put the state practically under water!

For Kebbi, there is an urgent need for immediate relief measures. And then, the state requires short, medium and long term plans.

This should apply to other flood-prone states in the country as well. What I fear most in Kebbi is an epidemic of disease arising from villages where residents still hang around their waterlogged places of abode contaminated by the surrounding waters. In the short term, what the Emir of Argungu requested, also the clarion call of resilient farmers, is that while they may have lost this rainy season farming, there is hope for the coming dry season - usually for two farming cycles.

Chairman of the Wheat Farmers Association, Alhaji Abdullahi Argungu, revealed that the entire Fadama rice fields and â&#x20AC;&#x153;90 per cent of the farmlands have been submerged by the floods.â&#x20AC;? He appealed that farmers be provided with improved seedlings for maize, cassava, potatoes and other varieties for immediate planting. So, with the right help, farmers can still bounce back.

Meanwhile, this recent trip to Kebbi State was an eye opener because I visited places I had never been to before. In Bagudo and adjoining local governments, the vegetation is not different from what you have in the southern part of the country. Not only do they grow thick timber, crops like palm oil, banana and cocoa also abound. This testifies to the richness of our land. But the point I want to make is with regard to the saved hippopotamus of Zaria Kalakala. With little or no effort to preserve the vast diversity of wildlife in our country, we have become obsessed with what we will eat today. We hardly care about tomorrow and the ecosystem that sustains our world. Sadly, it is something that is common with societies like ours. Which is why the villagers of Zaria Kalakala are so remarkable.

In his famous book, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Why Worry About Future Generations?â&#x20AC;&#x2122; which deals with how what we do today impacts what happens tomorrow, Samuel Scheffler, professor of philosophy at New York University, argues that there is a deep interconnection between the interest in ourselves and our concern for successor generations. That is a lesson we are yet to imbibe because of the preoccupation with immediate need (sometimes greed) that blinds us to the reality that we owe the future an obligation to live responsibly. The World Commission on Environment and Development could have been referring to Nigeria in a statement it once made that, â&#x20AC;&#x153;We borrow environmental capital from future generations with no intention or prospect of repayingâ&#x20AC;ŚWe act as we do because we can get away with it: future generations do not vote; they have no political or financial power; they cannot challenge our decisions.â&#x20AC;?

The sad aspect is that we see this lack of care about the future in the way we run our affairs in practically all areas of our national life. Yet there is no better time than now to begin to make radical choices about our future. r/05& 1JFDF DPODMVEFE PO QBHF

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