WEDNESDAY 28TH SEPTEMBER 2022 by THISDAY Newspapers Ltd

In Aggressive Bid to Tame Inflation, CBN Raises MPR to 15.5% Hikes CRR to 32.5% to check currency speculation, orders banks to make adjustments Emefiele: N9trn injected into economy in three years Says no assurance on monetary easing yet, promises additional intervention in aviation James Emejo and Nume Ekeghe in Abuja The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)

yesterday raised the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR), otherwise known as interest rate, by 150 basis points, to 15.5 per cent from

14 per cent. The CBN also raised banks' Cash Reserve Requirement (CRR) by 750 basis points to a minimum

of 32.5 per cent, from 27.5 per cent, in order to mop up liquidity from banks’ vaults and discourage currency speculation.

The apex bank, however, left the Liquidity Ratio (LR) unchanged at 30 per cent. MPR is the benchmark rate

at which the CBN lends to commercial banks, and it often Continued on page 12

Atiku: My Govt Will Restructure Nigeria, Quell Separatists' Agitations... Page 39 Wednesday 28 September, 2022 Vol 27. No 10032. Price: N250

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Group News Editor: Goddy Egene Email: Goddy.egene@thisdaylive.com, 0803 350 6821, 0809 7777 322, 0807 401 0580

PDP SOUTH EAST ZONE STAKEHOLDERS' MEETING WITH ATIKU... L-R: Former Vice President and the Presidential Candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Atiku Abubakar; Governor of Enugu State and candidate of the PDP for Enugu North Senatorial District, Rt. Hon. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi; Acting National Chairman of the Party, Amb. Umar Damagun, and PDP Vice Presidential Candidate, Gov. Ifeanyi Okowa, during the party’s South-east zonal stakeholders’ meeting with Atiku in Enugu ...yesterday

Presidency to States: You Can't Procure Weapons for Your Security Outﬁts Says law enforcement agencies have been directed to confiscate such weapons Cautions against politicisation of security Deji Elumoye in Abuja The presidency yesterday declared that none of the 36 states of the federation had the authority to procure weapons for their security outfits. The pronouncement was in apparent reaction to Governor Rotimi Akeredolu of Ondo State's recent submission that he was going to arm the state security outfit, Amotekun, with sophisticated weapons like was allegedly obtainable in Buhari’s Katsina home state. The presidency, in a statement issued by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on

Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu, stressed that law enforcement agencies had been directed to confiscate such weapons procured illegally by the state governments for their security outfits. The statement explained that in the case of he Katsina State security outfit often cited, the office of the Provost of the Civil Defence Training College on Katsina only provided training on request to the state vigilantes group. While cautioning the state government against politicising security issues, the presidency, however, appreciated the state

security outfits on the successes recorded so far in their respective states to nip the security challenge in the bud. The presidency in the statement added, "The presidency wishes to strongly assert that there is no state, not Katsina, not any other state in the federation, that has been authorised to procure automatic weapons for their security outfits. "Under this administration, the president has repeatedly made it clear that nobody is allowed to illegally carry AK-47 or any other automatic weapons and that they must surrender them.

"Where they fail to do so, the law enforcement agencies have been given clear directives to deal with any such outlaws. "Under the existing regulations, only the Office of the National Security Adviser can issue such authorisation, upon proper clearance by the President and Commanderin-Chief and as it is at this moment, no such approvals have been issued to any state government.” It added: “The Presidency appreciates the active involvement of states with security matters. "As they continue to expand their capabilities as well as their active

PDP Crisis: Ortom in Double-speak, Says He Won’t Abandon Wike George Okoh in Makurdi and Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja Less than 24 hours after Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom dismissed insinuations that he was in support of the removal of the National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Dr. Iyorchia Ayu, the governor yesterday denied a statement he issued on the matter, vowing not to abandon his Rivers State counterpart, Nyesom Wike but was curiously silent on Ayu. Speaking to journalists yesterday, shortly after presiding over the Benue North-West Senatorial district PDP caucus meeting held at the Benue Peoples House, Makurdi, Ortom insisted that Wike was not treated fairly by the party. The Jemgbagh Development Association had on Monday accused the governor of being involved in the moves to oust Ayu, a fellow Benue man, an allegation he (Ortom) denied in a statement that was issued by his Chief Press Secretary, Nathaniel Ikyur. Ortom had in the statement said it was impossible for him to advocate the removal of someone (Ayu) he helped to appoint and because he believed he had ability to rebuild and lead the party to victory in next year’s general election. He had also stated that it was an open secret

that he worked tirelessly, alongside other prominent Benue citizens, to ensure that Ayu was elected “as the national chairman of our great party even against all odds.” “The governor could not, therefore, turn around to work against him to be removed from office,” the statement added. Clearly, the Monday’s statement by Ortom was in contrast to the position of members of his group in the PDP led by Wike, that had said their irreducible minimum condition for peace to reign in the PDP was for Ayu to quit as PDP National Chairman. However, embarrassed by the position he took in the earlier statement, Ortom yesterday made U-turn, saying he won’t abandon Wike. This, therefore means that members of the Jemgbagh Development Association were right to have accused him of plotting with his friends in the PDP to remove his kinsman. However, in his clarification yesterday, the Benue State governor was curiously silent on the key issue, which is whether Ayu should go or not. Rather he concentrated on how his Rivers State counterpart wasn’t treated fairly and did not comment on the demand for Ayu’s sack. Ortom’s latest statement amounts to speaking on both sides of the

mouth in an attempt to eat his cake and have it. Speaking yesterday, Ortom said: “I just came back from London this morning with Wike and I still maintain my stand on what I said. I have not moved away from there. "I still sympathise with Wike for the injustices meted out on him and our group." The governor further stated that, "The party leadership has not been fair to Governor Wike based on the activities that took place during the convention and after the convention. "They have not been able to adequately deploy the internal conflict resolution mechanism of the party to resolve those issues. "I still sympathise and stand with Wike and let the leadership of the party at the national level do the right thing. It is not too late to do so," he said. According to Ortom, "Politics is about interest, and where your interest is not protected, you have the right to protest" stressing that "We remain committed to the PDP but still want the right thing to be done, so that everybody will be carried along." While noting that it was not late to resolve the issues, Ortom further pointed out that with the interface he had with the Board

of Trustees (BOT) of the party, he hopes that issues would be properly addressed. "The issue in contention about the national Chairman, the BOT, was here some few days ago and we deliberated on the matter. They sought to know what my feeling was about the crisis and I told them the truth as far I am concerned. "I gave them my recommendations and I hope that justice will be done so that our party will gain its position to take over power in 2023," he said. The governor maintained that despite the crisis rocking the party at the national level, Benue State does not have any problem, stressing that, "from bottom to top, we are good to go, as far as our party is concerned. I am working for our candidates." Ortom insisted that he cannot work against PDP but he would support every candidate, emphasising however, "that does not mean I am not aggrieved, Wike is aggrieved and I am aggrieved too." On the outcome of the caucus meeting, the governor said after due consultations, a Benue North-West Senatorial campaign team for the Senate seat would be constituted, pointing out that it would be integrated into the main campaign council of PDP in Benue State.

collaboration with law enforcement agencies of the federation, the joint efforts continue to yield good results, thwarting attempts of terrorists to wreak havoc and destruction on communities. "The president in particular has

expressed happiness that in the last couple of years, security outfits mandated by state governments have been associated with several important initiatives, and reports have reached him of acts of utmost bravery and professionalism.”

Lagos Takes Delivery of Trains for Red Line Rail System State has deliberate policy to empower women, says Sanwo-Olu Segun James The Lagos State government has achieved another major milestone in its determination to deliver the operation of the Red Line Rail System by the first quarter of 2023. A statement by the Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr. Gbenga Omotoso, said the TALGO SERIES 8 Trains acquired for the Red Line have finally arrived in Lagos. He explained: “The 2 Nos. Ten and Eleven Car trains which were bought from Milwaukee are here”. He said it was necessary to decouple the train into 21 individual cars for effective transportation to Lagos, adding that the trains woul be recoupled with the help of rolling stock Engineers from Talgo, the company that manufactured the trains in the United State of America. Omotoso said: “The engineers will also take the opportunity to train our local engineers whilst they are here to equip our young people with the requisite skills. Once the recoupling is complete, the testing and commissioning will commence followed by full passenger operations in the first quarter of 2023. “Each train can carry 1500 passengers and is expected to run on the Red Line Rail from Agbado to Oyingbo, with the journey taking less than 30 minutes.” Meanwhile, Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu has disclosed that his administration has a deliberate policy to empower the women folks despite the challenges

facing the state. Sanwo-Olu stated this during the Year 2022 WAPA Connect Conference with the theme: ‘The Emerging Woman” organised by the Ministry of Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation. According to the governor, "this conference was initiated in pursuance of our administration’s expressed commitment to optimally harness the potentials of both the male and female genders knowing fully that this is the sure path to attaining our full growth and development potentials as a state. "It is also a testament to the policy of inclusiveness which our administration is a strong commitment to upholding. The adopted theme of this year’s conference “The Emerging Woman,” speaks to the changing dynamics driven by the new thinking of the 21st Century as well as the new challenge, women have to overcome to play the role expected of them conscientiously." While citing world athlete champions, Tobi Amusan and Ese Brume as examples, the governor said, "their remarkable success has once again demonstrated that there is no limit to the height a woman can attain with commitment, determination, and the will to succeed. "However, the real issue that must be of serious concern to us is how do we support, inspire and encourage young emerging women to arrive at their destination against all odds. Continues online

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WAPA CONNECT: 'THE EMERGING WOMAN'... L-R: Commissioner for Education, Mrs. Folashade Adefisayo; Special Adviser to the Governor on Civic Engagement, Princess Aderemi Adebowale; Special Adviser to the Governor on Sustainable Development Goals and Investment, Mrs. Solape Hammond; First Lady of Lagos State, Dr. Mrs Ibijoke Sanwo-Olu; Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu; Wife of the Deputy Governor, Mrs. Oluremi Hamzat; Secretary to the State Government, Mrs. Folashade Jaji; Commissioner for Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Hon. Mrs Cecilia Bolaji Dada and Special Adviser to Lagos State Governor on Housing, Mrs Toke Benson-Awoyinka, during the Lagos State Ministry of Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation 2022 WAPA Connect themed: “The Emerging Woman” at Lagos Continental Hotel, Victoria Island,Lagos... yesterday

House Demands 32-year Tax Records on NNPC’s Joint Venture Account Gives one-week ultimatum to Nami, oil companies’ CEOs to appear

Juliet Akoje in Abuja The House of Representatives yesterday demanded for all tax records and other relevant documents on all joint venture (JV) businesses and production sharing contracts of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) from 1990 to date, from the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS). The House Ad-hoc Committee probing the JV businesses during the period, gave the directive when the FIRS represented by Ogunyemilusi Gabriel and Bello Rasheed appeared before it during an investigative hearing yesterday. This was as various oil companies invited by the Committee failed to show up for the hearing. The FIRS’ representatives said the relevant tax documents demanded by the committee had been submitted, but only for the 2015 to 2021. The documents demanded included the summary of petroleum profit tax, copies of tax returns filed by all JV ventures from 1990 to

2022, summary of all remittances to federation account of all tax revenues between 1990 to 2022, copies of correspondences between NNPC and FIRS tax remittances, summary of all remittances to federation account of all tax revenues between 1990 to 2022 and certified true copies of the various tax revenues accounts maintained or supervised by FIRS on behalf of the federation. The FIRS representatives, Gabriel explained that the remaining records would be supplied eventually as they usually archive them. He said the agency has a policy of archiving every six years, which was why the records from 2015 to 2021 were readily accessible when the committee demanded for them. The spokesman of the House, Hon. Ben Kalu, expressed worry that the archiving policy of the agency placed a restriction on the mandate of the committee. “It is restricting. I say so because if you look at the request from the letter which is from 1990 and you are starting at 2015 based on

the policy, we are losing about 25 years of enquiry. “They must present these number of years wherever the documents are. We need those documents for us to conduct a

through investigation. Let no excuse be given" Chairman of the committee, Abubakar Fulata demanded that the records be made available by Friday this week.

Seeks more attention to revenue generation Ndubuisi Francis in Abuja The Debt Management Office (DMO) has explained that the federal government's borrowing plan increased by N1 trillion this year to meet subsidy on petroleum motor spirit (PMS), otherwise known as fuel. The DMO Director General, Ms. Patience Oniha, who disclosed this in Abuja yesterday, in a presenta-

tion at the Executive Course on Budgeting and Fiscal Transparency at the Army Resource Centre, said the borrowing plan for 2022 was jacked up by N1 trillion to enable the government accommodate the extra-cost of petrol subsidy. Oniha whose presentation dwelt on 'Debt Sustainability Challenges and Strategic Revenue Mobilisation Initiative' maintained that Nigeria's debt was within acceptable and

Urges Nigerians to reject politicians using religion to grab power The Northern States Christian Elders Forum (NOSCEF), has accused the All Progressives Congress (APC) for allegedly resorting to clandestine ways to cause division among Christians, especially in the north, in an attempt to counter the stance of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) on Muslim-Muslim ticket. The body also called on Nigerians to the reject divisive and self-seeking politicians, who want to capitalise on religious differences to gain political power. In a statement yesterday issued in Kaduna, the Chairman of NOSCEF, Mr. Ejoga Inalegwu, asked the APC to stop using monetary incentives to recruit people to cause division among Christians. Inalegwu also called on Christians to be circumspect and vigilante with the antics of desperate

politicians and avoid being used to cause disaffection. He recalled that before the commencement of the presidential primaries, “NOSCEF warned aspirants against the one faith ticket in a country like Nigeria begging for unity, inclusiveness, fairness and justice.” The statement observed that the APC presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu seems to have a penchant for same faith presidency, recalling that, “In 2011, Bola Ahmed Tinubu sought Muslim -Muslim ticket with Atiku Abubakar and it was rejected. “In 2015, he (Tinubu) again, sought for a Muslim-Muslim ticket with President Muhammadu Buhari and it was again rejected. “Both Atiku and Muhammadu Buhari from the north, know that having a Muslim from the south would not have added any electoral advantage.

He also directed that the chief executives of various oil companies invited appear in person of face sanctions. The sitting was adjourned to next week Tuesday.

DMO: 2022 Borrowing Plan Increased by N1trn to Meet Fuel Subsidy Cost

APC Trying to Cause Division among Christians, Northern Elders’ Group Alleges John Shiklam in Kaduna

The Committee directed that the Executive Chairman of the revenue generating agency, Mohammed Nami, appear before the committee next Tuesday to speak to the documents so submitted.

“In December 2021, Bola Ahmed Tinubu met with a group in Abuja and sold the Muslim-Muslim Ticket. “We warned that every patriotic Presidential aspirant should avoid same faith ticket to avoid further polarisation of the nation along religious lines.” Inalegwu, maintained that, “Because there was a long term goal and a purpose to be accomplished, APC went ahead with the single faith venture, with the aim of riding on the wings of divisive religious politics to victory.” He said, “NOSCEF is concerned that apart from the failure of the desire of the architects of the single faith ticket, to cause serious divisions in the forthcoming elections, APC has resorted to clandestine ways of causing division in the body of Christ, by recruiting hitherto unknown bodies in the Body of Christ to counter decisions taken

by the umbrella body, CAN and its various organs.” NOSCEF, warned the APC, “to stop using monetary incentives to recruit and cause divisions amongst the Christians, especially in the north.” The statement also, “frowned at the publicity the APC uses to its advantage, to make public ridicule of Christian bodies, particularly in the north, for the purpose of causing disaffection, just to win election.” The NOSCEF chairman said, Christians, “Muslims and people of other faiths, know that unity, fairness, justice and inclusiveness will engender national progress, rather than the war of divisive religious political game, intended through the instrumentation of same faith ticket.” Continues online

sustainable limits despite the current public debt stock of $42.8 billion. According to her, the federal government had to resort to borrowing to fund the budget due to revenue challenges, explaining that the government was deploying World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) tools to ensure the sustainability of Nigeria’s public debt. She said, “These tools include an annual Debt Sustainability Analysis (DSA) and a Medium Term Debt Management Strategy (MTDS) every four years. "Maturities in the Public Debt Portfolio are well spread to avoid bunching of maturities and to ease repayments of maturing obligations. "The domestic debt portfolio has securities with tenors ranging from 91 days to 30 years, while the external debt portfolio has securities ranging between five years to 30 years.” Oniha stressed that in spite of criticisms trailing the federal government's borrowings, Nigeria’s debt to GDP ratio remains among the lowest in the world, arguing that while Nigeria’s current debt to GDP ratio was 23.06 per cent, countries like Angola (136.54 per cent), South Africa (69.45 per cent), Ghana (78.92 per cent), United States (133.92 per cent) and United Kingdom (104.47 per cent) have higher ratios. However, Oniha pointed out that rising levels of public debts were not peculiar to Nigeria, as governments were increasing their borrowings to meet with economic and social challenges triggered by the Covid-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war. She stated: “Governments across

the world borrow. Globally, debt levels are growing, but it is not a new trend. Debt levels were already rising prior to Covid-19 crisis when compared to 2014. “Globally, sovereign debt grew from 49 percent of GDP in 2014 to 57.9 percent in 2019 and in subSaharan Africa, from 35 percent of GDP in 2014 to 55 percent in 2019. "In Nigeria, this ratio rose from 13 percent in 2014 to 19 percent in 2019," even as she explained that the government was not just borrowing for borrowing sake. According to her, the loans would enable the government to finance critical infrastructure with multiplier benefits, including ob creation, movement of persons and goods and overall GDP growth. Reaffirming that the country was facing a revenue crisis, Oniha stated that it had become imperative for the government at all levels to pay more attention on how to increase revenue generation as a means of reducing borrowing. Nigeria, she added, was performing poorly in terms of revenue, noting that the country had a far lower revenue record than it could generate. However, she stated that the federal government had taken a number of measures to grow revenue, while urging citizens and corporate bodies to meet tax obligations in order to make funds available for the government to finance the much-needed infrastructural facilities across the country. Oniha also stated that the issuance of federal government securities had several benefits for both the citizens and corporate organisations.

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PRESENTATION OF THE EDO STATE TOURISM MASTER PLAN... L-R: Chairman Steering Committee on Edo State Tourism Master Plan and Head of Service, Anthony Okungbowa; Chairman, Alternate Steering Committee, Bismarck Rewane; Edo State Commissioner for Arts, Culture and Diaspora Aﬀairs, Hon. Bamidele Obaitan, and Edo State Deputy Governor, Philip Shaibu, during the presentation of the Edo State Tourism Master Plan, in Government House, Benin City...yesterday

IMF Prescribes Fiscal, Monetary, Structural Reforms to Tame Food Inﬂation in Nigeria, Others Blames high prices on local supply disruptions, currency depreciation Ndubuisi Francis in Abuja and Segun James in Lagos The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has prescribed a mix of fiscal, monetary, and structural reforms to help lower soaring food inflation in Nigeria, Ghana and other countries in sub-Saharan Africa. The multilateral lender declared that food prices tend to be higher in countries with weaker fiscal management and elevated public debt, noting that those with stronger monetary policy frameworks are better at curbing direct and

second-round food price inflationary pressures, and in turn, controlling overall inflation. Nigeria's food inflation stood at over 22 per cent in July, while Ghana's was 32.3 per cent over the same period. In a new blog post, the IMF attributed the spike in the prices of locally-sourced foods in Nigeria, Ghana and other sub-Saharan African countries to domestic supply disruptions, local currency depreciations, as well as higher fertiliser and input costs. The multilateral lender, which

disclosed that staple food prices in sub-Saharan Africa surged by an average 23.9 per cent between 2020 and 2022, the highest since the 2008 global financial crisis, noted that this was commensurate to an 8.5 per cent rise in the cost of a typical food consumption basket (beyond generalised price increases). The IMF stated that global factors were partly to blame for the rising food prices because the region imports most of its top staple foods, such as wheat, palm oil and rice, among others. The Fund said: "Global factors

are partly to blame. Because the region imports most of its top staple foods—wheat, palm oil, and rice—the pass-through from global to local food prices is significant, nearly one-to-one in some countries. "Prices of locally sourced staples have also spiked in some countries on the back of domestic supply disruptions, local currency depreciations, and higher fertiliser and input costs. "In Nigeria for example, the prices of both cassava and maize, more than doubled even though they’re mainly produced locally.

"In Ghana, prices for cassava escalated by 78 per cent in 2020-21, reflecting higher production costs and transport constraints, among other factors." Using price data from 15 countries on the five most consumed staple foods in the region (cassava, maize, palm oil, rice, and wheat), the IMF said it found that in addition to global food prices, net import dependence, the share of staples in food consumption, and real effective exchange rates drive changes in local staple food prices. "Of these, the consumption share

NUPRC Begins Probe into Nigeria’s Oil Production Underperformance, Says Issues Deeper than Oil Theft Commission vows to take 'revolutionary' measures to ensure accountability Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) last night said it was commencing a probe into Nigeria’s perpetual crude oil underperformance, stressing that the matter could be deeper than oil theft. In a statement by the Commission’s Chief Executive, Mr Gbenga Komolafe, last night, the NUPRC stated that letters inviting oil and gas firms in the country had already been dispatched. According to the chief executive, the commission during the enquiry will particularly be interested in the mode of operation of the companies in relation to the approvals as per their operational licences, the level of conformity with the technical provisions and production terms. In addition, the statement said that the NUPRC will also be looking at the companies' level of investments to enhance capacity utilisation, the challenges they are

facing, especially those contributing to the current ‘unacceptable situation’ “One of the steps, in line with its technical and regulatory powers, is to probe into the operational and commercial activities of exploration and production companies operating within the country to ascertain the level of compliance with the terms and conditions in their operational contracts, as well as the challenges impeding expected deliveries,” the commission stated. Beginning Wednesday September 28 (today), the commission said it will be engaging all the exploration and production companies individually to get to the root of the current situation. “It (the commission) believes strongly that there might be more fundamental issues in the industry affecting expected output and deliveries beyond the much touted issue of crude theft,” Komolafe added. According to him, during the

engagement, the operators would be expected to present their work programme performance, acreage status, divestment plans (if any) and field development plan (FDP) implementation status. In addition, they would be expected to make submissions on upstream investment in the last five years, exploration activities including geophysical acquisition/ processing/reprocessing, leads and prospects maturation plans as well as exploratory wells drilled in the last five years. Furthermore, the companies would be required to present their reserve status; life index, current reserves replacement ratio (RRR) and reserves growth strategy (RGS); status of Joint Venture/Production Sharing Contract activities. They are also expected to include ongoing facility projects, number of drilled wells, re-entry applications and approvals granted in the past five years; shut-in wells, their potential and reactivation plan(s)

and expected incremental volumes. Other requirements, according to the NUPRC head would involve technical allowable/production performance and production optimisation strategy, including production profile for the last 10 years; status of production facilities, as well as unit technical cost of production on field basis. “The NUPRC is determined to take bold and revolutionary steps, using a non-kinetic approach, to address the challenges of crude oil theft, improve national crude oil production and save the country’s economy from further degeneration. “Although NUPRC is not an operator/producer, it has a statutory responsibility as a regulator to probe into the situation and seek drastic solutions to the challenges as the current situation has seriously affected the country's economy and posed a huge challenge to the funding of the national budgets. “The commission will do everything within its authority to

challenge the narrative and halt further degeneration by ensuring transparency in hydrocarbon accounting,” Komolafe said. During the engagement, Komolafe stressed that the commission would also insist on knowing the companies' gas development strategy, gas reserves commitment status and domestic gas delivery obligation performance. Added to the aforementioned, he noted that it would also inquire into the status of utilisation activities (if any); crude oil evacuation route and exported volumes from January this year, status of statutory payments as well as the challenges they are facing in the course of their operations. “The move by the commission is to ensure transparency and accountability in the industry to guarantee effective operation and output delivery in the interest of the country's economy and the benefit of the investors and industry operators,” the statement said.

of each staple has the largest price effect. This is due in part to income. Better-off households can afford a wider range of foods, but for the poor there are very few substitutes for staples, which make up nearly two-thirds of their daily diet. "We estimate that a 1 per cent increase in the consumption share of a staple food raises the local price by an average 0.7 per cent; the effect is even bigger when a staple is mostly imported, raising the price by about 1.2 per cent. "When a country’s net import dependence increases by 1 per cent, the local real cost of a highly imported staple is expected to increase by an additional 0.2 per cent," the multilateral institution said. The IMF submitted that the relative strength of a country’s currency is another driver as it affects the costs of imported food items, noting that a 1 per cent depreciation in real effective exchange rates increases the price of highly imported staples by an average 0.3 per cent. Staple food prices in the region, the IMF said, are also impacted by natural disasters and wars, rising by an average 4 per cent in the wake of wars and 1.8 per cent after natural disasters, depending on the magnitude, frequency, duration, and location of events. On the rile of policy in moderating food inflation, the Fund noted that improving public financial management could help free up resources for investment in well-targeted social assistance programmes or in climate-resilient infrastructure, adding this could help stabilise prices. "Policymakers could also help make agricultural inputs such as seeds and fertilisers cheaper by introducing structural and regulatory reforms that promote fair competition, as well as by streamlining trade procedures and better leveraging research and development to boost agricultural innovation," it said.

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New Senate Bill Seeks CBN Gov's Removal as Board Chairman Lawmakers okay bill to increase appeal court justices from 90 to 110 Sunday Aborisade in Abuja The Senate yesterday passed for second reading, a bill which seeks to remove the Governor of the Central Bank Nigeria (CBN) as Chairman of the board of the apex bank. The CBN Act No. 7 of 2007 makes any incumbent Governor of the bank to also serve as Chairman of its Board. However, the Senate through a bill sponsored by Senator Umar Sadiq Suleiman (APC Kwara North ) is currently seeking the appointment of a person other than a sitting CBN Governor to be the Chairman of the Board. The Senate in the bill, also seeks to divest the board of CBN’s powers

of determining and fixing salaries and allowances of its members and considering and approving the annual budget of the bank. Umar in his lead debate on piece of legislation titled, "A Bill for an Act to amend the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Act No. 7 of 2007 to enable the appointment of a person other than the Governor as the Chairmen of the board," said central banks across the world, have different persons as Chief Executive and Chairman of board. He said, "This bill as clearly stated, seeks to divest the Governor of CBN, chairmanship of the board as obtainable in other countries of the world. "A different person with requisite qualification and required knowl-

edge on monetary and financial policies, should be made chairman of the board. "Separation of the two positions will enable any sitting CBN Governor to focus more on fiscal and monetary policies than politics of the Institution." However, Senators James Manager (PDP Delta South) , Orji Uzor Kalu ( APC Abia North), Enyinnaya Abaribe (APGAAbia South), among others, opposed the bill. However, counter submissions made by Senator Jibrin Barau (APC Kano North), Betty Apiafi (PDP Rivers South), among others, made the bill to scale second reading. Apiafi in particular said the intended amendment was necessary in view of the way the incumbent

CBN governor, Godwin Emefiele was branded as contestant for the presidential ticket of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in May this year. The Senate President, Ahmad Ibrahim Lawan, however, cautioned Senators to focus on the proposed amendment rather than dabbling into the alleged attempt by the CBN governor to contest as that wasn't part of the general principles of the bill. He thereafter put the bill for voice votes for second reading which secured approval of majority of the Senators, making him to mandate the Senate Committee on Banking, Insurance and other Financial Institutions to work on it and report back in four weeks.

Meanwhile, the Senate yesterday, passed a bill to amend the Court of Appeal Act, 2013 increasing the number of Justices of Court of Appeal from 90 to 110. The development followed the adoption of the report of Senate Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights and legal Matters by Chairman of the Committee, Sen.Bamidele Opeyemi(APC-Ekiti). The Chairman in his lead debate said the bill sponsored by Senator Chukwuka Utazi(PDP-Enugu) sought to increase the number of Justices of Court of Appeal from 90 to 110. He said, the legislative intent of the amendment was to ensure that the court has the requisite manpower to allow cooperation

of all the divisions of the court. Opeyemi added that the bill was designed to bring justice closer to litigants in line with the current reality at expediting the administration of Justice. He said, “This is necessary in order to eliminate delay in the justice delivery systems, as it relates to the adjudicatory powers of the court “The proposed amendments undoubtedly are targeted at increasing the work load of the court and enhance its effective performance.” He said that stakeholders were unanimous in their support of the passage of the bill, given its strategic relevance to the justice sector reform.

for Nigerian operators in other countries was unfair. He said, “We would like to appeal to the countries where the foreign airlines are domiciled or where their flights originate that they should, please, give Nigerian airlines also a chance to land their aircraft in their countries. Also in line with the Bilateral Air Services Agreement. “You cannot be having 21 landing slots in a week from your country into Nigeria and, yet, you have not given a Nigerian airline that wants to land his aircraft in your country even up to seven landings. To us Nigerians, that is unacceptable. And Nigeria should stand and criticise this, that it is not acceptable.” Emefiele, however, said the aviation sector had always enjoyed priority in forex allocation. On the e-Naira project, which would clock one-year next month, Emefiele described the success as tremendously, adding that the digital currency has recorded about one million downloads. He stressed that 905,588 customers had downloaded their app while 282,600 accounts were currently active. The CBN governor said so far accounts of transactions exceeded N1.49 million worth over N3.484 billion, including 78,115 consumers to bank worth about N1 billion, bank to customer of 90,760 transactions worth N945 million; Consumer-to-consumer transactions worth of about 35,800 worth about N480 million and consumer-to-merchant which was about 171,000 transactions worth over N387million. On the global scene, the MPC in its communiqué expressed concern over the heightened risk of spill-over associated with the broadly weakening global recovery. It added that these had been further exacerbated by uncertainties emanating from lingering supply chain bottlenecks, due to the Russia-Ukraine war and continued COVID-19 lockdown in China. Consequently, it noted that global trade maintained a steady decline while inflation remained high, despite aggressive rate hikes by several central banks. The communiqué stated that the risk of yet another global recession would be extremely damaging for fragile economies still confronted with the lag impact of the 2020 recession, especially for emerging market and developing economies currently confronted with huge capital flow reversals and tightening global financial conditions. Emefiele said the broad outlook of the global and domestic economies in the medium-term remained clouded by uncertainties associated with lingering headwinds from the Russia-Ukraine war and the residual impact of the COVID-19 pandemic among

others. On the domestic front, the MPC noted that available data on key macroeconomic variables indicate that output growth will continue for the rest of 2022, however, at a much-subdued pace. The CBN governor added that some of these domestic shocks included the high level of insecurity currently disrupting the free flow of economic activities; heightened sovereign risk as the 2023 general election approached; continued upward pressure on inflation, driven by exchange rate pressures, among other domestic factors. In addition, domestic price was expected to maintain the current upward trend in light of the build-up of increased spending and demand for money, as the 2023 general elections approach. Accordingly, the CBN governor forecasted that the Nigerian economy would grow in 2022 by 3.52 per cent, compared to the federal government’s projection of 4.20 per cent and 3.40 per cent by the international Monetary Fund (IMF). Emefiele noted that the meeting focused on the aggressive acceleration of inflation globally and how this had begun to retard growth in both advanced and emerging market economies. He said, “Members noted that though the global economy was progressively weakening due to the various headwinds confronting the recovery, in Nigeria, output growth had been sustained as a result of the combination of development finance interventions by the bank and fiscal stimulus by the federal government.” The MPC noted the moderate downturn in the equities market, attributing it to a continued outflow of portfolio capital as investors re-assign their portfolios to more attractive US dollardenominated fixed-income securities. The committee, however, called on the federal government to continue to improve the ease of doing business in Nigeria to retain the current patronage of foreign investors through sustained investor confidence in the Nigerian economy. The MPC applauded the CBN for its continued stringent regulatory measures over the banking system, noting the progressive decline in the Non-Performing Loans (NPLs) ratio of the banking system despite the heightened macroeconomic uncertainties. The MPC was concerned that within a four-month period, inflation had accelerated aggressively by 280 basis points from 17.71 per cent in May 2022 to 20.52 per cent in August 2022. The committee was, thus, of the view that given the primacy of its price and monetary stability mandate, it was expedient that significant focus be given to taming inflation.

IN AGGRESSIVE BID TO TAME INFLATION, CBN RAISES MPR TO 15.5% determines the cost of credit in the economy. Addressing journalists after the meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) in Abuja, CBN Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, said the latest changes were part of the bank's aggressive effort to rein in inflation, which peaked at 20.52 per cent, year-on-year, in August. Explaining the rationale for the rate hike, Emefiele, who read the committee’s communiqué, said the MPC was concerned that within a four-month period, inflation had accelerated aggressively by 280 basis points, from 17.7 per cent in May to 20.5 per cent. He said the decision to raise interest rate was unanimously agreed by members of the committee in order to narrow the negative real interest rate gap and hold back inflation. Emefiele also announced that the CBN had injected over N9 trillion into the economy, in addition to offering a two-year moratorium for 10-year long-term loan facilities. He said the MPC believed that the interventions had significantly helped to engender growth. However, in the light of the persistent pressures of inflation, the committee encouraged the CBN to maintain a close watch on the inflationary implications of the interventions.

Nevertheless, the apex bank boss said the committee was of the view that given the primacy of its price and monetary stability mandate, it was expedient that it focused on tackling inflation at this time. Emefiele said a loosen or hold option was off the table during the meeting, pointing out that loosening would further widen the negative real interest rate gap, and worsen the financial market conditions, as savings mobilisation and investment inflows would decline further. He said the committee was also of the view that with the aggressive policy normalisation in advanced economies, loosening would result in a sharp depreciation of the exchange rate, leading to a further hike in capital outflows. However, Emefiele said holding the MPR at 14 per cent could mean a continuous deterioration in real earnings of fixed-income earners and the livelihood of lowand medium-income households. Hence, the MPC noted that a tight policy stance would help consolidate the impact of the last two policy rate hikes, which was already reflected in the slowing growth rate of money supply in the economy. Emefiele said the committee also felt that an aggressive rate hike could slow capital outflows

and likely attract capital inflows and appreciate the naira. He insisted that as long as inflation kept its upward projection, the MPC could not give “assurance to anybody that we would not continue to raise rates.” He said, “We've seen that rates have moved very aggressively recently and that is the reason we are following it up in May, July and now September meetings, very aggressively for us to see to what can be done to rein in inflation.” Commenting on the upward adjustment in CRR, the CBN governor explained that the move was expected to mop up cash from banks’ vaults to counter speculative attacks on the naira. He said banks must adjust to the CRR rate within 48 hours or risk preclusion from the foreign exchange market, including the official Investors and Exporters (I&E) Window. He said, “We have increased the CRR and we expect that this decision at this meeting will be seen to be potent and must achieve the effect that the MPC thinks it should achieve. “We expect that all the banks in Nigeria must fund their account by Thursday - within 48 hours - because we will debit them for CRR. We would take their CRR, the minimum of 32.5 per cent, which means we're going

Senators Reject Bill Seeking Power Rotation in Nigeria Sunday Aborisade in Abuja A bill Seeking to legalise power rotation across the six geopolitical zones in Nigeria, was rejected by the senate at plenary yesterday. The bill sponsored by Senator Patrick Abba Moro (PDP Benue South), was to pass second reading after his lead debate, but vehemently kicked against by many of the senators, who contributed to the debate. Moro, had in his lead debate titled: "A bill for an Act to Provide for the Rotation of Power and for other related matters there in 2022", said there was need for a law to legalise rotation of power across the various geographical divides in the country. He posited that such a legislation if passed into law, would not only promote the principles of equity, fairness and justice among the various geographical divides but also ensure sense of belonging

required for nationhood of a heterogeneous country like Nigeria. According to him, "If there is a law on power rotation in Nigeria, it will help to ameliorate the squabble for power, particularly, the presidency across the various six geo-political zones and also promote unity in the country." In their contributions, senators, who took turns to speak, kicked against the bill on the grounds of running against provisions of the 1999 Constitution. First to reject the move was Senator Bala Ibn Na' Allah (APC Kebbi South), who said the bill should have been presented as one seeking for amendment of relevant provisions of the Constitution and not just one seeking for legislation from the Senate or by extension, the National Assembly. "In as much as it good for power to rotate across the various divides in the country,

none of the provisions of the 1999 constitution gives room for that, because it throws such privileges open to all Nigerians at all times. "Without legislation or law on power rotation, a minority like former President Goodluck Jonathan became President of this country few years back just as we have a minority in person of our revered President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan, leading the 9th Senate. "So, I don't think there is any need for a specific law to be put in place for power rotation and even if any move is to be made in that direction, it has to be through constitution amendment," he said. Deputy Senate President, Ovie Omo-Agege (APC Delta Central), in his contribution, also kicked against the bill by making similar submissions as Na'Allah , which made Moro to hurriedly withdraw the bill through order 42 of the Senate standing rules.

to take liquidity out of their vault by Thursday.” Emefiele warned, “If any bank fails to meet up to this expectation, the decision arrived at the MPC is that we may need to preclude those banks from the foreign exchange market on Friday and onwards until they meet this 32.5 per cent.” He added, “This message is meant to underscore the fact that MPC says this decision, this very aggressive decision to rein in inflation, must yield results. We do not want to face Nigerians in the next few months and begin to take the blame for not being able to rein in inflation in spite of all the rates that we have raised. “We have to decide to adopt a two-pronged approach; increase MPR, CRR because we must mop liquidity effectively out of the vaults of the banks.” On the timeline for a possible deceleration in inflation, Emefiele said, “Our view is that the lag period should be between two to three months. This is September and as we begin to get into November and December, we should begin to see deceleration and we are going to do everything possible to achieve this because we believe that with the liquidity out it would constrain using the money for speculative purposes. “We are not going to sit down and allow people to go into their bank accounts to speculate against the currency, we will not allow it. That is the reason we would take money out of the vaults of the banks so that the speculative use of naira can completely be tamed.” The CBN governor said the bank was determined to further intervene in the aviation sector to settle outstanding ticket sales following the recent release of $265 million to address the foreign exchange challenges in the sector. He contended that though the Bilateral Air Service Agreement (BASA) stipulated that airlines’ proceeds must be repatriated, “It does not say that you must repatriate your dollars through the central bank.” Emefiele added, “There is no law that makes it compulsory that you buy dollars from the central bank. When you put your own in your account, it means that you tell your bank to buy dollars and your bank will go to the legitimate or approved sources, which in this case is the I&E window, to buy dollars to pay for the ticket sales. If they don’t find, they can resort to the CBN, but it does not mean CBN is under compulsion.” Emefiele also appealed to foreign airlines to honour BASA by allowing their Nigerian counterparts equal landing opportunities in their respective countries. He said a situation whereby a foreign airline had 21 landing schedules in Nigeria against only about seven

WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 28, 2022 • T H I S D AY

T H I S D AY ˾ WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 28, 2022

MIDWEEKPOLITICS

Acting Group Politics Editor DEJI ELUMOYE Email: deji.elumoye@thisdaylive.com

08033025611 SMS ONLY

As INEC Blows Whistle for Take-off of 2023 Election Campaign Today... Emameh Gabriel writes that the stage is set for campaigns and ﬁreworks as the Independent National Electoral Commission lifts ban on political parties’ campaign today.

Tinubu

he Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) today blows the kick off whistle for the 2023 general elections campaigns in line with its scheduled timetable. Campaigns for the next year’s general elections, including the Presidential and National Assembly elections will now officially take off in earnest. In an already charged and frenzied political atmosphere and extremely polarized nation, currently battling insecurity in all fronts coupled with economic challenges, it is expected that drums for the elections will sound louder than witnessed in previous polls as Nigerians become more concious of the happenings in their political environment, especially in the last few months. The country holds its breath; the frills, the thrills, jabs and counter jabs will increase and the political atmosphere will be enveloped with apprehension as the major political parties position themselves before the electorate to gather more sympathisers either by conviction or enticements of any kind. INEC had on Monday read the rules of engagement to political parties for the campaigns in accordance with the 2022 Electoral Act. Chairman of the Commission, Prof Mamood Yakubu, advised political parties to study and pay attention to the provisions of the Constitution, the Electoral Act, the Police Act and the Public Order Act for the proper and peaceful conduct of political campaigns, rallies and processions. Yakubu also reminded the parties that their campaigns and slogans must not be tainted with “abusive language directly or indirectly, which are likely going to injure religious, ethnic, tribal or sectional feelings”. The INEC boss who sounded the note of warning at the opening of a two- day Capacity building workshop on the Commission’s Processes, Preparations for the 2023 General Election and Critical Issues in the Electoral Act 2022 for INEC Press Corps, held in Lagos, cautioned that “abusive, intemperate, slanderous or base language or innuendoes designed or likely to provoke violent reactions or emotions must not be employed or used in political campaigns”. Represented by INEC National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee, Festus Okoye, Yakubu charged the media to exercise their constitutional responsibility and hold the political parties to task, ensuring they uphold the guidelines and provisions of the Electoral Act as it relates to the coming elections. He reiterated that the media has a critical role to play in the overall success of the election and reassured that INEC will deploy technology to give Nigerians a full experience of electoral justice. According to him, “I want to assure Nigerians that the Commission will deploy and continue to deploy appropriate technology for the conduct of elections. The Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and INEC

Obi

Result Viewing Portal (IreV) will be deployed for the conduct of the 2023 general election. ”We will continue to use technology to improve and enhance the credibility of elections in Nigeria. Our goal is electoral justice where every Nigerian will experience electoral fulfilment”. While candidates are expected soon to sign a peace pact with the Abdulsalami Abubakar-led National Peace Committee, the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) has also appealed to political parties to conduct themselves in the manner that will not escalate tension among their supporters. Although 18 political parties are in the race for the presidential election, it seems clearly that it is going to be a four horse race with only the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC), with former Lagos State Governor, Bola Ahmed Tinubu as its flag bearer, the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has settled for former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, former Anambra State Governor, Peter Obi will lead the pack under Labour Party (LP) which came into the race lately looking likely to create an upset. Also the New Nigerian Peoples’ Party (NNPP), which looks more like a regional force with former Kano State Governor, Rabiu Kwankwaso as its standard bearer also contending for the plum job. What are the issues at stake for political parties? With a high unemployment rate, worsening poverty level, escalating insecurity, and rising debt burden fuelling dismay in Nigeria, the 2023 campaign promises to be issues based. It is therefore expected that political paries’ candidates will provide credible, practicable and pragmatic solutions to the challenges bedeviling the nation’s economy and security.

Atiku

Kwankwaso

Nigeria deserves the best this time. No doubt, they will express their resolve, anger and frustration at the polls next year. The 2023 campaigns would not be business as usual; it’s going to be issues based rather than a cacophony of expired fairy tales. Political parties’ candidates would be confronted with burning questions that require honest answers to Nigerians who are now better informed and politically sensitized. Nigerians will be more concerned about candidates antecedents, their policy programmes and party’s achievements to make their choices. The APC for instance, after enjoying soaring popularity in the buildup to the 2015 general elections, has recently become a subject of increased criticism after almost eight years in the helm of affairs, and the main opposition PDP has taken advantage largely on the global economy crisis which Nigeria is not spared too, the slow pace of economic recovery and steady rise in inflation, as a tool for campaign. On the other, the PDP has a damaged reputation to repair. The party had in the build up to the 2019 general elections apologized to Nigerians for how it mismanaged the country’s economy and promised to turn things around if given another chance. The party is currently battling to rescue itself from how it poorly managed the country’s economy in its 16 years in power. The PDP was largely criticised for corruption, insecurity and impunity, especially under the Goodluck Jonathan’s administration- factors that majorly contributed to its defeat in 2015. Tinubu promises to navigate Nigeria to prosperity. He has promised to build on President Muhammadu’s legacies and turn the fortune of the country around if elected. Apart from agriculture, infrastructure, education and security, the former Lagos State Governor has also promised to make Nigeria youth a key component of his administration and nurture them to take over leadership from the current generation. Minister of State for Labour and Productivity, and the spokesperson for APC 2023 presidential election campaign council, Festus Keyamo, in a recent interview with THISDAY described Tinubu as the best bet for Nigeria under the current circumstances. “By the time we begin to role out the records, the facts and the figures, it will now become

clear that nobody is close to Asiwaju. Because really it is about what you have done. “I am sorry, this is an issue based campaign, I am not using abusive words, I am addressing issues and I said Atiku cannot come close to Asiwaju”, said Keyamo who explained how Tinubu would assemble the best hands to run the economy. For the PDP, its presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, has promised to resuscitate Nigeria’s economy by launching a $10 billion Economic Stimulus Fund within his first 100 days in office, stressing that the fund would prioritise support to micro, small and medium scale enterprises (MSMEs) that offer greatest opportunity for inclusive economic growth. Atiku who spoke recently at the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) noted that his economic plan was carefully designed to salvage the country’s economic fortunes before members of Nigeria’s organised private sector. He further hinted of his plan to privatise Nigeria’s dilapidated refineries rather than spend $1.55 billion on their revitalisation. Spokesperson of the Atiku Abubakar Presidential Campaign Organisation, Charles Aniagwu, has also said the PDP was ready to embrace issue-based campaigns ahead of the 2023 general elections. Aniagwu who spoke on a national Television programme, said the party was prepared to stay on the issues because it was well abreast with the challenges bedeviling the nation. According to him: “It is important for every Nigerian to appreciate the fact that we must remain on the issues that our people are contending with. “I am happy that our party, particularly our presidential candidate has clearly identified what the issues are and it is only those who don’t understand what the issues are that try to bring up propaganda or try to attack individuals. “As a party we have been able to reel out the issues we are going to deal with. Earlier, I listened to your interview with the Presidential spokesman, Femi Adesina, and I can see that he was unable to give answers that you needed to put smiles on the faces of Nigerians. “We have identified the issues which are, the need to revamp the economy, ensure security of lives and property, devolution of power to the different component parts of the country. “We will be addressing issues of education to the extent that today for over 220 days now our children have been at home because our universities are under lock and key due to ASUU strike”. The presidential candidate of Labour Party (LP), Peter Obi came into the race as a paperweight politician who would pose no serious threat to the two major political parties, the ruling APC and the main opposition PDP.

In an already charged and frenzied political atmosphere and extremely polarized nation, currently battling insecurity in all fronts coupled with economic challenges, it is expected that drums for the elections will sound louder than witnessed in previous polls as Nigerians become more concious of the happenings in their political environment, especially in the last few months

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

T H I S D AY ˾ WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 28, 2022

POLITICS

Yahaya Moves to Secure Gombe Ahead of 2023 Polls Gombe State Government has held its maiden Peace and Security Summit aimed at providing pathways to dealing with emerging security threats before the general elections in the state early next year. Segun Awofadeji reports

epresentatives of various organizations, community leaders, strategic stakeholders and resource persons participated in the three - day Summit, which was held in Gombe, the state capital, which extensively discussed all security issues affecting Gombe State. They also thoroughly pondered over the measures being taken to address the challenges. The Summit also offered the participants an opportunity to interact and converse with some of the leading experts and stakeholders in internal security management in the country with a view to charting new directions for better and effective management of internal security in the state and the country at large. It could be recalled that before Governor Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya took office, political violence, electoral thuggery, armed banditry and even insurgency were the sorry lot of the Gombe people as the political leaders and their surrogates battled each other for dominance of state power. In fact some of the political actors resorted to ethnic and religious baiting setting one group against the other while others armed thugs to harass, maim and even kill perceived opponents and adversaries. The infamous Kalere thugs were utilised by some self-styled political godfathers to engage in a brutal campaign of despotism, impunity and political oppression unprecedented in the annals of Gombe state’s history. Before he came to power in May, 2019, the Governor vowed to reduce crime to the barest minimum and mitigate security threats, thus guaranteeing the security of lives and property for all people of Gombe State as was captured in his campaign manifesto. Community involvement participation in security matters is another aspect where Gombe State got it right. Governor Yahaya

Yahaya

has succeeded in creating a strong platform where community and religious leaders participate in the formulation of security related policies and their implementation. Community policing is part of the security framework that reflects community participation in security matters. Community security committees were put in place and were equipped with dedicated telephone lines for reporting security breeches by members of the public. This helped security operatives to nip any infraction in the bud. The state government under Governor Yahaya adopted dialogue as an effective strategy for settlement of communal disputes. In many instances, disputes on land, tribal or ethnic grounds in

the state were settled through engagement of traditional and community leaders. With all these laudable projects, policies and initiatives geared towards fighting crime, promoting mutual dialogue and advancing peaceful cohabitation among the citizens of the state coupled with his unbiased, equitable and balanced approach to political and public service appointments as well as the siting of key projects in all the 11 local governments in the State thus enthroning unprecedented peace and harmony, it is clear that Governor Yahaya doubly deserves the Grand Ambassador Award of Security and Peace in Nigeria recently bestowed on him. And no wonder, the Sultan of Sokoto once described Governor Inuwa as a truthful, passionate, accountable and steadfast leader with passion for peace, unity and development of his state and Nigeria. The First Gombe State peace and security summit is historic as it underscores the untiring efforts of the present administration of Governor Yahaya towards the protection of lives and property of the citizenry. Speaking while declaring open the Summit, Governor Yahaya said the peace and security summit convened by his administration will provide an opportunity for security personnel, government officials and other strategic stakeholders in the maintenance of law and order to aggregate and explore pressing internal issues with a view to identifying new security and community pathways of mitigating them for lasting peace and stability. He further stated at the Summit with the theme “Mitigating Contemporary Security Challenges for Sustainable Socio-Economic Development”, that given the theme of the summit and the calibre of resource persons invited as well as its participants, the summit will chart a new direction for mitigating internal security matters not only here in

Gombe State but in the country as a whole. According to him: “We are all aware that our dear country is passing through a delicate period of immense security and economic challenges and risks. Criminal elements all over the country are united in their determination to threaten our common values, destroy our means of livelihood and make life brutish and miserable for our people. Since the year 2010, our gallant security forces have been battling to contain a brutal insurgency waged by the Boko Haram terrorists in Borno which rapidly spread to other states in the North-East, North-Central and North-West subregions. Although the collective efforts of our men and women in uniform have succeeded in stopping the bombing campaigns of the Boko Haram insurgents, the colossal human and economic damage caused to our communities is still with us”. He noted that while the country was struggling to arrest the menace of Boko Haram in the North-East, another security threat in the form of rural banditry, emerged in some parts of North-Central and North-Western Nigeria with significant impact on human and the economic well-being. The Governor observed that the violent conflict which is majorly fuelled by climate change, population growth, proliferation of small arms and light weapons and ethnicity has equally pave the way for banditry and kidnapping which has since reached an alarming proportions in many states of the federation. Yahaya said although the present security situation in the country is generally precarious, Gombe State is relatively secure and peaceful. NOTE: Interested readers should continue in the online edition on www.thisdaylive.com

Odii Flies PDP Governorship Flag in Ebonyi Benjamin Nworie reports that with the recognition of Ifeanyi Odii as the authentic Governorship ﬂag bearer of the Peoples Democratic Party in Ebonyi State via a recent Supreme Court ruling, the battle to succeed Governor David Umahi has commenced in earnest

he struggle is over partially. The Peoples Democratic Party, now has an authentic Governorship candidate in the person of Mr Ifeanyi Chukwuma Odii, a Lagos-based philanthropist and successful multi-billion naira business mogul. Odii contested the party’s ticket with a twoterm Senator and former chairman of PDP in Ebonyi State, Senator Obinna Ogba. It has been a battle of titans, which led to court litigations after the factionalization of the party’s leadership and primaries in the State. Without Odii, Ogba was at the center stage to knock out all his challengers in the primary. Ogba fought for the ticket of the party using his long-contacts. At a point, it appeared to onlookers that the soul of the party in the State was determined by the highest bidder from the National leadership of the PDP. At a point also, it appeared that Odii was lavishing his wealth on vein mission. Ogba gave him a sleepless night. The battle started from a Federal High Court in Abakaliki and has finally been laid to rest at the Supreme Court. To an extent, this verdict has ditched the political prospect of Ogba and all the candidates in his line-up. But they have veritable option. Either Ogba remains in his party or he forms a new alliance with either the candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, Ben Odoh or even the candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Francis Nwifuru or at worst, rest his head politically for now. The fragmentation in PDP started after the congresses of the Party in the state which also spilled up to the last primary elections of the party. During the congress, the party was factionalized at the instance of Silas Onu and Tochukwu Okorie as state chairmen of the party. Onu challenged the legality of the

Odii

emergence of Okorie as the State chairman and won in the Federal High Court sitting in Abakaliki. The court ruled that Onu was the valid candidate and winner of the chairmanship election of the Party. As political aspirations heightened, stakeholders divided themselves along the two factions. The two camps operated in different offices and locations. They also conducted parallel primaries. While Odii, popularly known as “Anyichuks” emerged the governorship candidate in Onu’s PDP, Ogba emerged the governorship candidate od Okorie’s faction. Fortunately or unfortunately, both winners were presented Certificates of Return by the PDP.

First, the NWC cancelled the primaries already conducted by Onu where Anyichuks emerged and rescheduled it. In the rescheduled election, the NWC mandated Okorie to preside over it as the authentic chairman. In the election, Ogba emerged and was immediately presented with certificate of return. Odii approached Abakaliki Federal High Court and got a judgement that nullified the rescheduled elections and ordered that Odii should be given his Certificate of Return, which the party complied to. At a point, it was confusing who were the authentic candidates for PDP in all the positions but from some indications, it appeared that NWC has finally settled for Odii and all the candidates in his line up. This development also crippled the support base of Okorie’s group, as most of their stakeholders and supporters abandoned him for Odii. The litigations continued till the Justices of the Supreme Court affirmed that Odii remains the authentic candidate of PDP in Ebonyi State. The apex court arrived at its decision after setting aside the entire judgment of the Abuja division of the Court Appeal which went in favour of Ogba for being a nullity. Consequently, the five-member panel of Justices of the Supreme Court, led by Justice Amina Augie unanimously upheld the appeal filed by Odii as meritorious. Justice Lawal Garba who delivered the lead judgment held that the purported notice of appeal filed by Joseph Obinna Ogba on June 17, 22, which gave rise to the judgment of the lower court was incompetent in law as it was filed without the leave of court. The apex court held that as a person having interest in a pre-election matter, but who was not made a party to the proceedings, ought to have obtained leave of the trial court to appeal

as an interested party. Justice Augie who agreed with the lead judgment distinguished her judgment in Ujogbo Vs Abba Umaro decision which the lower court relied upon in its decision. In his reaction, Ogba thanked his supporters and urged them to accept the judgement as act of God. Ogba, in a reaction by his media aide, Godfrey Chikwere said: “Your emotions and passion are felt, your silence and decorum as a result of the supreme court pronouncement is loud and clear and will not be taken for granted. Yours has been total support coming from inner love and unquenchable spirit of acceptance”. “May I therefore use this opportunity to inform you that Distinguished Senator Obinna Ogba after due consultation with his family, associates, you and I will be communicating his political ground and express his political body language over the weekend. “None of your sacrifices and concerns especially the concerns of Ebonyi people will be taken for granted as we are going to take a stand and communicate the same. “We will not take for granted that our kind intentions may not always be God’s plan instantly. Therefore, our intention and decision will be inspired by God and not merely by emotions, self and selfish interest. God doesn’t make mistakes”. The judgment has elicited mixed reactions in the polity especially as it concerns the fortunes of the party in the 2023 general elections. A social critic who confided in THISDAY noted Odii’s victory guaranteed PDP defeat in the main election. NOTE: Interested readers should continue in the online edition on www.thisdaylive.com

T H I S D AY ˾ ͰͶ˜ ͰͮͰͰ

FEATURES

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

Empowering African Entrepreneurs the TEF Way The Tony Elumelu Foundation and the United States African Development Foundation recently signed a 20 million dollar deal to fund African entrepreneurs. Chiemelie Ezeobi reports that the collaboration, which happened at sidelines of the 77th United Nations General Assembly in New York, would go a long way to empower entrepreneurs, particularly women and youth through funding, training, and mentorship

Jacquelline Fuller, president at Google.org; Tony Elumelu; Travis Adkins, president and CEO of USADF, and other global leaders at the roundtable

Elumelu and Travis signing the $20 million deal at the breakfast roundtable at UBA PLC, New York

e believe in African Entrepreneurship. So we built an infrastructure that supports entrepreneurial talents across the continent", the above ethos are the guiding principle of The Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF). Started in 2010, the foundation has blossomed to become the leading champion of entrepreneurship in Africa with the objective to "empower women and men across our continent, catalysing economic growth, driving poverty eradication and ensuring job creation". Founded by Nigerian economist, and philanthropist, Tony Elumelu, who also chairs Heirs Holdings and Transcorp, the foundation believes the private sector is critical for Africa’s development by creating social and economic wealth. Since inception, the foundation has supported over 1.2 million African youths with 15,847 empowered through programmes aimed at eradicating poverty, illiteracy, high density of migration for greener pasture, and hunger among other salient issues affecting the growth of Africa. Roundtable with Africa in Focus With its unprecedented passion for entrepreneurs, especially in continent, the foundation is known for scouting out deals that would be beneficial to African youths. One of such recently took place in UBA Building, New York at the sideline of the just concluded 77th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA). At a roundtable hosted by TEF and Google in New York last Tuesday, TEF signed a $20 million deal with the United States African Development Foundation (USADF) to empower African entrepreneurs. At the roundtable were Founder Tony Elumelu Foundation, Tony Elumelu; President Google.org, Jacquelline Fuller; Managing Director - Sub-Saharan Africa Google, Nitin Gajria; Administrator UNDP, Achim Steiner; Chief of Private Partnerships and Philanthropy UNHCR, Shirin Pakfar; and Chief of Economic Empowerment Section UN Women, Ms. Jemimah Njuki. Others include Deputy Director, Partnerships GEN U, Nadi Albino; CEO GEN U, Kevin Frey; Charles Wetherill of UNCDF; John Sankara also of UNCDF; President of ICRC, Peter Maurer; Government Affairs & Public Policy Manager, African InstitutionsGoogle, Pren-Tsilya Boa-Guehe; and Executive Director UNEP, Sheila Aggarwal-Khan. Also present were President USADF, Travis Atkins; Secretary-General WMO, Professor Petteri Taalas; Founder AbdulSamad Rabiu Initiative, Abdul Samad Rabiu; CEO UBA Africa/America, Sola Yomi-Ajayi; CEO TEF, Ifeyinwa Ugochukwu; Assistant Administrator UNDP, Ms Ahunna Eziakonwa; CEO Silatech, Hassan Ali Al-Mulla; and Head of Innovation Unit at the Office of the Executive Director UNFPA, Ms. Nigina Muntean. Thrilling the attendees with their success stories, the trio of three TEF alumni- Ugochi Obidiegwu, founder of The Safety Chic; Kwabena Danso, founder of Boomers International Ltd and Chioma Ukonu,

“To recognise that and make them central to everything we do: there is no mainstream, they are the mainstream. We are very excited to be here and to begin this work together.”

Director for Africa, National Security Council, Deniece Laurent-Mantey with Elumelu co-founder of RecyclePoints, were effusive about the many opportunities TEF has brought their way directly and indirectly through the seed capital, training and mentoring received from The Tony Elumelu Foundation. TEF as Vehicle of Transformative Change For moments such as this, Elumelu is often seen beaming like a proud father. Who could blame him? Most of the TEF alumni have gone on to do great things using the foundation as a springboard. According to Elumelu, "Often, I am asked what achievement I am most proud of, and my answer is always the same – the sense of fulfilment I feel, when I interact with the beneficiaries of The Tony Elumelu Foundation. "Hearing their testimonies, successes and challenges, the impact that $5,000 has on their businesses, ideas, and communities, this gives me joy and excitement. When people ask what motivates me, this is it. "I am delighted that U.S. African Development Foundation (USADF) is joining the other global institutions who partner TEF, to rewrite how development assistance in Africa can catalyse and empower our youth, through the $20million agreement signed with TEF yesterday. "The partnership will empower many, many more entrepreneurs, over

a period of five years through funding, training, and mentorship. "I have always said that the world needs to pull resources, together to commit in empowering the youth economically, to radically effect change. This is happening. " I am glad that The Tony Elumelu Foundation is the enabling vehicle for this, playing its part in rallying this coalition for transformative change. Thank you U.S. African Development Foundation (USADF)." “It is not how much we have in our bank accounts that matter, what matters is the impact we bring, the lives we touch, the ability to help take people out of poverty to prosperity, so that we share. The more the merrier — that is the motivation,” he stressed. United States African Development Foundation The U.S. African Development Foundation is an independent U.S. government agency established by Congress to invest directly in African grassroots enterprises and social entrepreneurs. Essentially, USADF creates pathways to prosperity for marginalised populations and communities across Africa, which was why the partnership was well received. For Travis Adkins, president and CEO of USADF, Elumelu’s deliberate investment in women and African youth is at the "core of what USADF seeks to do on the continent", adding that he was proud of the collaboration between both foundations. He said: "We live in a world where majority of the population on the continent — women and youth — are actually spoken of as if they are a small niche constituency, when in fact, they are the marginalised majority.

I have always said that the world needs to pull resources, together to commit in empowering the youth economically, to radically effect change. This is happening. I am glad that The Tony Elumelu Foundation is the enabling vehicle for this, playing its part in rallying this coalition for transformative change

Focus on Female Entrepreneurs Although TEF is open to young entrepreneurs, special attention is however paid to women. According to TEF CEO, Ifeyinwa Ugochukwu 60 per cent of the 2021 TEF entrepreneurship programme beneficiaries were female, adding that TEF is proud to be funding African women entrepreneurs. She said: "When you put the money in the hands of a woman, it goes far, and that is why when we started the foundation, the first two years, we had 29 per cent participation from women, and we said ‘no, that’s not enough’ if you were in school that is actually an F. “So we worked intentionally to increase the number of women participants, and I am so happy to say that in 2021 we had 60 per cent participation from women — and that is as a result of our partnerships with the likes of Google, EU, who were empowering more women through our entrepreneurship programme.” Meanwhile, she lamented that although women make up 70 per cent of the workforce in Africa, only 30 per cent make money and own only 10 per cent of property on the continent, hence TEF's constant push for affirmative support for women by way of empowerment. Google Partnership Also not left out was plans to solidify with Google to empower more entrepreneurs across the continent. According to Jacquelline Fuller, president at Google.org, they are looking for more partners with such experience and local knowledge of the African market, adding that Google is providing not just funds, but also technical skills, and manpower to help drive partnerships and economic growth in Africa. ICRC Also at the roundtable was the President of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Peter Maurer, who posited that TEF and ICRC have remained focused on giving African talents a sure and faster route to progress. "Working with TEF is one of the most interesting aspects of partnering in a completely new way together, bringing a young generation out of dependency and out of conflict," adding that the TEF model of giving grants to women entrepreneurs is a good way to go because the money will be felt in an impactful way. Commendation Also speaking, Director for Africa, National Security Council, Deniece Laurent-Mantey, particularly commended TEF and Elumelu for the constant way it was promoting the youth. She harped that they are ready to take it a notch higher and ensure more reach. Her pledge was well received by Elumelu and others given the huge and innate potentials that African youths posses.

T H I S D AY ˾ SEPTEMBER 28, 2022

FEATURES

Sterling One Foundation: Leading Partnerships for SDGs Ending hunger, making poverty history and creating an equitable society where education is accessible, industries thrives and human capacity is enhanced is the top priority of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals-2030. Precious Ugwuzor reports that Sterling One Foundation is now leading the charge through building enduring institutional partnerships to reach the ambitious 2030 goals

he room was charged; each one offering solutions to Africa’s perennial problems. On the pew were seated thought-leaders in the corporate, business, governance and civil society space; all gathered to attempt at ending the talks and taking bold actions to push Africa agenda forward in the quest to actualising the United Nations 2030 Sustainable Development Goals. Grim Statistics in Africa The Africa Social Impact Summit, ASIS pumps out grim statistics, showing participants from over 52 African countries what the continent is today and what it might be in the near future, if collaborative actions is not taken to make poverty history, end hunger, ensuring good health and well-being to all, maintaining quality education, mainstreaming gender equality, making sure that the environment is clean and live-able, availability of clean water, affordable and clean energy, ensuring that there is decent work and economic growth, making sure that there is an appropriate action on climate change. These are among 17 ambitious but attainable sustainable development goals. Most critical in the mix of the goals is the 17th goal: Partnerships for Goals. It is in essence the coordinating component of the goals; calling for actions, active participation, collaborations and joint efforts from governments, businesses and relevant organisations: “One of the things we find is that organisations are working in silos; that must change” Olapeju Ibekwe, Sterling Foundation lead conveys to the ASIS audience. Olapeju challenged corporate organisations, NGOs and businesses to forge a united front in order to actualise the SDGs within the 2030 time frame, urging for serious partnership and an end to one-man-show-ship. Investments in education and health topped the agenda of the summit. In Africa, the gap in education investment is so wide, it requires booths- on- the- ground action. On the continent: “Sub – Saharan Africa has the highest rates of education exclusion , over one- fifth of children between 6 and 11 years are out of school, followed by one third of the youths between ages 12 and 14. According to UIS data, almost 60 per cent of youths between ages 15 to 17 are not in school” as cited by a UNESCO document. By interpretation of the UNESCO data; more than 42million children from Sub-Saharan Africa are not in school; 18.5million of the out of school children are in Nigeria. “If urgent actions and partnerships are not built, the demand for educating the growing young population will keep rising and widening” Sterling One Foundation lead, Ibekwe said, noting specially that the gap in the educational sector can be closed faster when innovations in the education space are funded to provide access and quality education for children in any location they live. “This is one of the reasons why at Sterling One Foundation, we support innovative ideas, we support ideas that can bridge the gap to make Africa reach the goals faster” she said. Africa is still a long way from achieving the goals on education and health; a child born in Africa is still at risk of not receiving quality education and decent healthcare. There is much to be done in Africa despite financial commitment of United Nations agencies and international organisations but much more than the funding is the need for unified strategies and sustained collaboration.. Experts believe that reaching the SDGs can only be near feasible in Africa if organisations form united fronts. The United Nations Resident Coordinator in Nigeria, Mathias Schmale points to the urgency of collaborations, while calling on organisations to ensure policy inclusivity: “Our guiding principle for development and social impact is and as well as internally displaced and refugees hit especially hard by growing unemployment, spiraling inflation, and insufficient access to education and health services; we must take a fresh look at how best to support the most vulnerable on this continent; like youth, women and girls face many challenges in reaching their potentials”, Schmale said.

L-R: Michael Ilesanmi, Senior Social Development Specialist and Task Team leader, Nigeria for Women Project, World Bank; Dr. Sarah Alade, Special Adviser to the President on Finance; and Peju Ibekwe, team lead, Sterling One Foundation “As it stands, Nigeria unfortunately, is not on track to reach many of its SDGs by 2030; a situation compounded by the COVID 19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine. The same is true across many African countries” the UN Nigeria Resident Coordinator said. “We need to be more deliberate with our collaborative efforts to channel investments into educational development. If we are going to achieve impact and scale, we have to let go of competitiveness” said Adetomi Soyinka, director of programmes and regional director, higher education, British Council. Youths as Critical Driver One critical driver of Africa’s development is the need to invest in the continent’s youthful population. It is believed that Africa has the youngest population in the world; this should be viewed as smart social investment and an opportunity but for lack of investment in the youthful talents, Africa’s young population could turn huge liability, this is why ASIS 2022 focused an entire session in formulating development templates for investment in education and health, two critical enablers which can unlock talents of young people.. “The African youth collectively are Africa's greatest natural resource. The potential of our youths must be nurtured and cultivated” said the

UN Resident Coordinator in Nigeria. Co- founder of Co-Creator Hub, Bosun Tijani drives home the point: “The biggest driver of economic prosperity in the world is talent. Nigeria is blessed to have a lot of young people who are inclined to contribute to our economic development”. No region or geographical location should be left out of the inclusive development plan; rural or urban, all parts of the continent needs integral system to ensure equal opportunities: “We should focus on collaborations and set agendas that impact the development of a rural and urban youth” said Ibekwe. Governance and Policy If the SDG must come to fruition, the participation of governance and policy must be proactively active. Sarah Alade, the special adviser to the President on Finance and Economy said: “I like that we currently have a lot of independent actors in our youth development, but we also need a lot of cooperation with the government to make a greater difference. In preparing for Nigeria’s Agenda 2050, the youths have an important role to play to be able to share their ideas with the government to make a change in the country”. The Deal Room According to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, a yearly investment of $3.9 trillion is required from public and private sector in developing countries alone to achieve SDGs. The public sector alone does not have the financial capacity to fund the actions and investments required to achieve the SDGs. This is why the Sterling One Foundation

Olapeju challenged corporate organisations, NGOs and businesses to forge a united front in order to actualise the SDGs within the 2030 time frame, urging for serious partnership and an end to one-man-show-ship

is at the forefront of galvanising necessary collaborations and participations of the private sector to invest in social ideas and business concerns that can move the needle closer to SDG attainment in Africa. At the Africa Social Impact Summit, Sterling One Foundation engaged start-ups businesses from Nigeria, Namibia, Kenya and Ghana to pitch their business ideas to a selected team of investors. “The idea of the deal room is to put funds into social ideas that can quickly scale, be expanded and targeted specifically at providing solutions to health, education, environment and climate change as critical enablers to meeting the SDG” Sterling One Foundation lead, Ibekwe said. Quest For Partnerships The rise of China and India over the last 3 decades has been built on the principles of the Millennium Development Goals. While Africa struggled to catch up with the content of the goals, China and India laced the groundwork of their development with the spirit and principles of the goals. The result is what is visible to the world; China and India, once known and referred to as densely populate with extreme poor people on the face of the earth are now leading the world in trade and technology. Notably, China and India did not rise alone; they built strategic partnerships, they leveraged on cooperation, globalization and alliances to expand their trade, extend their technology; thereby lifting a mass of their population out of poverty within a decade. Seeing the dividends of partnerships, China is still aggressively extending its economic influence across Africa. Partnership building is one of the big missing links to the attainment of the Millennium Development, it is a critical component which drives and coordinates other goals. Now, incorporated into the Sustainable Development Goals, it is the most critical requirement for achieving the SDG. Partnership building formed the critical element of the Africa Social Impact Summit; this is because; little progress can be made in reaching the SDGs if partnerships are not integrated into organisations and government policy and programming.

WEDNESDAY, ͺ΀˜ ͺ͸ͺͺ ˾ T H I S D AY

TRIBUTE What Leaders Could Learn from Queen Elizabeth II’s Life Dr. Alim Abubakre

am writing this piece not because I am British. This article is also not composed because I have been invited to St James’ palace or because I have engaged with two prime ministers of the UK. Nevertheless, I reckon that I have a responsibility to share my reflections on snippets of the life of one of the world’s most famous diplomats and arguably one of the most impactful global leaders in the 21st century who just proceeded to another dimension. I agree with King Charles that Queen Elizabeth the second is a pattern for all princesses living, and I add for all leaders hoping to have an enduring legacy. The death of Queen Elizabeth II is undoubtedly one of those endings that one would argue has a bitter-sweet conclusion of impactful, strategic and global self-less leadership spanning seven decades and filled with an enduring legacy. It is bitter in the sense that Britain and, indeed, the rest of the world have lost a great leader with massive wealth and experience of impressive transformation. The sweet part, however, comes in that there are a lot of valuable lessons that world leaders can learn from the life of the queen right from the point when she unexpectedly became the UK’s sovereign as a young, relatively untrained, and inexperienced heir. That did not, however, stop her from being a great visionary leader. Over the years, she rose to be a powerful political figure, with excellent leadership skills admired in Britain and worldwide. With that said, there are lessons that leaders could learn from the queen. EMPATHY AND STRENGTH OF CHARACTER When it comes to empathy and the strength of her character, the queen ensured that she remained herself throughout her reign. She remained unapologetically female, and at no time did she pretend to be someone she wasn’t. For instance, instead of ruling other kings (exerting power and always seeking to dominate), she offered a beneficial sounding board in all her sittings with other leaders. According to former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair, the queen always listened fairly to everyone and offered to help solve the most complex problems without necessarily making her physical presence felt or using force. While some criticised such a character, the queen kept it and never allowed them to interfere with her leadership. Though she did not intervene openly in the operations of governance, Queen Elizabeth II utilised her convening power to exemplify strength, stability, dependability and empathy in her engagement with diverse stakeholders, both domestically and internationally. ABILITY TO INSPIRE SERVICE TO HUMANITY Right from her tender age, Queen Elizabeth II strongly believed in her uncommon sense of purpose to serve humanity. As her successor, King Charles expressed in his tribute speech, the rested Queen “… made sacrifices for duty…her dedication to serving…never wavered…through times of joy and celebration…and through times of loss….” In doing so, the queen demonstrated her determination to serve and ensured that she upheld the public pledge she made at the young age of 21 in a public radio broadcast during which she announced that she would devote her life, whether short or long to serve humanity until her demise. Without a doubt, she lived to the promise, and the world will truly miss her compassionate service to diverse laudable causes. From

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“I hope in the years to come; everyone will be able to take pride in how they responded to this challenge. And those who come after us will say the Britons of this generation were as strong as any.” commitment to animal welfare, support for the progress of arts, championing professional institutions and serving as an influential patron of the British Olympic Association, Queen Elizabeth is a wonderful bastion of the peak of leadership-Societal leadership (other types are self, team and organisational leadership). Her support of science and technology, for example, during her reign, the world wide web was developed by a British scientist, the world’s first ATM was installed in the UK, and fingerprint technology was developed in the UK, demonstrates her commitment to global human advancement. Such a regal yet altruistic individual is undoubtedly an inspiration to anyone seeking to make a positive change in the world and leave an enduring legacy. STRATEGIC LEADERSHIP Throughout her reign, the queen was very strategic in her decisions and actions, especially when she was required to act quickly. From the death of Princess Diana to the COVID-19 crisis and the Meghan scandal, she was able to decide, align, inspire and learn from all these crises to stimulate the nation to navigate these turbulent times effectively. A quote

from her speech during the COVID-19 crisis clearly articulates this: “I hope in the years to come; everyone will be able to take pride in how they responded to this challenge. And those who come after us will say the Britons of this generation were as strong as any. That the attributes of self-discipline, quiet good-humoured resolve and fellow-feeling still characterise this country. The pride in who we are is not a part of our past. It defines our present and our future.” The queen’s focus on the bigger picture even in times of crisis and amazing ability to communicate this effectively, one could argue, contributed immensely to UK scientists being world leaders in genome sequencing and the country being the first nation in the world to license COVID-19 vaccine. DEDICATION Undeniably, her dedication was another great leadership quality that Queen Elizabeth II displayed over her tenure as the queen. While she had the liberty to retire at the age of 66, she continued to serve and carry out her duties diligently up to the age of 96 to dedicate her time to serving the UK, Commonwealth nations and the rest of the world. Indeed, even two days before her death, she performed one of her most important roles: accepting the resignation of the parliamentary leader of the country and asking the new prime minister to form her government. Mayor of Dudley, Councillor Sue Greenaway, captures this in her “heartfelt condolences” to the Royal Family on behalf of the people of Dudley. “Queen Elizabeth II was a dedicated public servant, whose unfailing devotion to her country was evident

throughout her reign.” For any leader to have a lasting positive impact on society, they need to emulate Queen Elizabeth II by demonstrating unparalleled dedication. DISCRETION, DIPLOMATIC CREDENTIALS AND UNIFYING COMPETENCE As part of her diplomatic work, the queen visited more than 100 countries and welcomed hundreds of world leaders. She was also always in contact with the renowned Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) as part of her efforts to build diplomatic ties. Interestingly, as the head of state for 70 years, the queen was subjected to wild rides several times in complex situations that could end up in severe diplomatic rows if not managed well. To solve such puzzles, the queen exercised her discretion through carefully calculated moves to avoid causing unending diplomatic issues. For instance, in 1999, Australia organised a referendum to decide whether to remain as part of the monarchy. While the queen had discretionary power to influence the outcome, she made it clear that she was letting the people of Australia make that decision alone without anyone’s interference. That was one of the ways that she promoted peace and freedom. In conclusion, Queen Elizabeth II won the hearts of many through her outstanding leadership qualities and will remain a source of inspiration to world leaders for the next several years. Indeed, there are many lessons that leaders of state, heads of government, and even organisational leaders can draw from the life and reign of the queen. Without a doubt, anyone granted a leadership position would do well by following her example. I agree with Shakespeare that “some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them.” Queen Elizabeth II, though had greatness thrust upon her, achieved and exemplified greatness, and her legacy is a life worthy of emulation.

WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 28, 2022 • T H I S D AY

22 T H I S D AY WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 28, 2022 TR

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Wednessday September 28, 2022 Vol 27. No 10032

opinion@thisdaylive.com

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THE FUTURE OF THE INTERNET SONNY ARAGBAAKPORE writes there are worries as ITU members meet to discuss the 6G next generation technology

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THE SUN SHINES BRIGHT Lagos holds numerous attractions to investors, writes ADEKEMI AKINMOSA

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EDITORIAL

THE MENACE OF FIRE OUTBREAKS

See page 28

SONNIE EKWOWUSI argues the many ‘ifs’ to a credible election

CAN INEC CONDUCT A FREE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION? Last week the INEC Chairman Prof Mammod Yakubu publicly promised that notwithstanding the challenges facing the commission, it would conduct free and fair elections or would deliver electoral justice in 2023. “Only the votes cast by Nigerians will determine who wins and this is our commitment to the nation,” said Prof Yakubu. Beyond mere verbal undertaking, Prof. Yakubu led-INEC must truly and really conduct an impartial, free, fair and credible 2023 elections, especially the Presidential election. Of all the elections the Presidential election is the most crucial which outcome will make or mar Nigeria. In fact guaranteeing peace, unity and stability in Nigeria in 2023 depends so much on the outcome of the 2023 Presidential election. The truth of the matter is that the people want a breakaway from the pre-existing ruinous legal order. They want total breakaway from the two political parties APC and PDP-which are hanging on the same leprous hand. There is a time for everything under the sun. This is the time for severance from the yolk of slavery and oppression. That is why the teeming young people that constitutes the bulk of the population of Nigeria has trodden the streets and alleyways across Nigeria, reminiscent of the storming of the Bastille, to demand for a new political order where commutative justice, equity, FKDUDFWHU FRPSHWHQFH VKDOO ÁRXULVK $UPHG with their respective Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) most young people across the geopolitical zones of the country are poised to cast their votes for the Presidential candidate of their choice in the forth-coming election. In the past, the country’s youths had displayed a somewhat nonchalant attitude towards elections and electoral processes. But today this has changed for good. In fact, as we speak, the Nigerian youths are out in the streets, expressways and alleyways dancing, singing and demanding for electoral justice in the 2023 Presidential election. Apart from the Nigerian youths, other Nigerian voters from variegated bloodstream of society are casting so much hope in the 2023 Presidential election. They perceive the election as the election which will bring positive change in Nigeria. Therefore INEC has no option but to conduct a free and fair Presidential election in February 2023. INEC must ensure that the ZLOO RI WKH 1LJHULDQ SHRSOH LV UHÁHFWHG LQ WKH 2023 Presidential election. A very credible American election monitoring team which is based in Washington D.C that came to monitor the 2019 Presidential election in Nigeria stated that candidate Atiku Abubakar clearly won that election. Therefore INEC must not rig the forth-coming Presidential election in favour of the APC. The other day an APC chieftain was boasting that the APC would rule Nigeria for the next three decades. And President Buhari has said that he is eagerly looking forward to handing over power to another APC man in

2023. If President Buhari was/is the nominator and appointer/re-appointer of INEC chair Prof. Yakubu coupled with the fact Yakubu is QRW ÀQDQFLDOO\ LQGHSHQGHQW RI WKH 3UHVLGHQF\ it is not illogical to believe that Prof Yakubu would dance to Buhari’s tune. He who pays the piper calls the tune. Isn’t it? Think carefully DERXW ZKDW , DP VD\LQJ 7KLV LV WKH ÀUVW WLPH the chair of our electoral body is coming from the same ethnic group as the President of Nigeria. For example, in 1979 Chief Michael Ani who was the chair of the then Federal Electoral Commission (FEDECO) did not come from the same ethnic group as the late President Shehu Shagari. Other successive electoral body bosses such as Prof. Eme Awa, Prof. Humphrey Nwosu, Abel Guobadia, Maurice Iwu, Attahiru Jega did not come from the same ethnic group as the heads of government who appointed them. But today we have the chairman of INEC who does not only come from the same ethnic enclave as President Buhari but who was singularly handpicked and appointed the INEC Chairman by the same President Buhari. This is why the people are entertaining fear about Prof Yakubu with regard to the Presidential election. I tell people that Presidential Buhari would not want to commit a political suicide: he would not want to hand over power to a Peter Obi who, wittingly or unwittingly, would dismantle the Fulani oligarchical and corrupt structures which he (Buhari) has been labouring to put in place in the last seven and half years. Granted, by virtue of the Electoral Act 2022, votes are now electronically transmitted. The new electoral act has given legal backing to INEC to deploy technology to enhance the credibility of the electoral process. This has given birth to the deployment of INEC Voter Enrollment Device (IVED), Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and INEC Result Viewing (IReV) portal. But the aforesaid are not bulwark against election gerrymandering or manipulation. A technology operated by a fraudster can become a fraudster. So, notwithstanding the deployment of technology in the electoral

SURFHVV ,1(& VWDͿHUV FDQ VWLOO ULJ WKH HOHFWLRQ in favour of any political party if they want. 2I DOO WKH ,1(& R΀FLDOV WKH 5HVLGHQW Electoral Commissioners (RECs) are the most SRZHUIXO DQG LQÁXHQWLDO 7KH 5(&V DUH WKH representatives of INEC at the state level. The role of RECs is critical for the success of any election. The duties of the RECs include monitoring the activities of all INEC ad-hoc VWDͿ 5(&V DV ZHOO DV SURYLGLQJ IRU SURSHU YHULÀFDWLRQ RI HOHFWLRQ UHVXOWV ,Q IDFW WKH ,1(& UHOLHV KHDYLO\ RQ 5(&V YHULÀFDWLRQV in authenticating the election results on the presupposition that RECs are people of unquestionable integrity. The pertinent question is: Who are the FXUUHQW 5(&V R΀FLDWLQJ LQ WKH HOHFWLRQV" The coalition of Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) complains that some of the 19 RECs newly appointed for INEC by President Muhammadu Buhari are either card-carrying members of the ruling party or people who have been previously indicted for corruption. On their own part, the Coalition of United Political Parties (CUPP) also complained that the current national voters’ register has been adulterated with fake and foreign names. In response to the allegation, INEC says it is presently conducting a comprehensive $XWRPDWHG %LRPHWULF ,GHQWLÀFDWLRQ 6\VWHP (ABIS) clean-up of the registration data by scrutinizing every record after which it would, in line with section 19(1) of the Electoral Act 2022, appoint a period of seven days during which the register will be published for scrutiny by the public for objections and complaints”. While awaiting the publication of the register, INEC should also publish the names and designations of all the INEC’s 5(&V ,1(& UHWXUQLQJ R΀FHUV DQG VWDͿHUV R΀FLDWLQJ LQ WKH HOHFWLRQV WR HQDEOH the public ascertain their background and antecedents. The allegation that some INEC’s 5(&V R΀FLDWLQJ LQ WKH HOHFWLRQV DUH FDUG carrying members of the ruling party is a serious allegation which INEC should not just dismiss with a wave of the hand. Rather than dismiss the allegation, the onus is on INEC to rebut or counter the allegation with credible evidence, if any. INEC could even vouch for the character of the current RECs. It is not enough for INEC to say that it is capable of organizing free, fair and credible elections in 2023”: INEC must be seen from the outside by fair-minded and informed members by the public to be manifestly organizing, through its actions, utterances and behaviour, free, fair and credible elections. The rule against bias or likelihood of bias is predicated on the perception of the fair-minded and informed members of the public. The basis for the rule is to maintain SXEOLF FRQÀGHQFH LQ D SXEOLF LQVWLWXWLRQ VXFK as INEC. Ekwowusi writes from Lagos

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WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 28, 2022

Lagos holds numerous attractions to investors, writes ADEKEMI AKINMOSA SONNY ARAGBA-AKPORE writes there are worries as ITU members meet to discuss the 6G next generation technology

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28 4

T H I S D AY

WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 28, 2022

EDITORIAL

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

THE MENACE OF FIRE OUTBREAKS The authorities should enforce building codes and regulations

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Our urban planners should ensure that there are enough access points through which fire fighters and emergency personnel could gain entrance to put off a fire before it spreads T H I S D AY EDITOR SHAKA MOMODU DEPUTY EDITORS WALE OLALEYE, OBINNA CHIMA MANAGING DIRECTOR ENIOLA BELLO DEPUTY MANAGING DIRECTOR ISRAEL IWEGBU CHAIRMAN EDITORIAL BOARD OLUSEGUN ADENIYI EDITOR NATION’S CAPITAL IYOBOSA UWUGIAREN MANAGING EDITOR BOLAJI ADEBIYI THE OMBUDSMAN KAYODE KOMOLAFE

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

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T H I S D AY ˾ WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 2022

BUSINESSWORLD R A T E S MONEY MARKET

A S

A T

REPO

Group Business Editor Eromosele Abiodun Email oriarehu.eromosele@thisdaylive.com

08056356325

S E P T E M B E R

S & P INDEX

2 0 , 2 0 2 2

S & P INDEX

EXCHANGE RATE

OPR

11.25%

CALL

10.25%

INDEX LEVEL

613.31%

1/4 TO DATE

-0.85%

N416.86/ 1 US DOLLAR*

OVERNIGHT

11.50%

1-MONTH

9.56%

1-DAY

0.16%

YEAR TO DATE

7.64%

*AS AT LAST FRIDAY

3-MONTH

10.52%

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0.44%

Money Supply Rises to N49.36trn Amid Federal Government’s Borrowing

Kayode Tokede The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in its money and credit statistics has revealed that money supply (M3) in the economy has increased to N49.36 trillion as of August 2022, a 9.21 per cent increase or N4.16 trillion Year-till-Date (YtD) when compared with the N45.19 trillion reported in January 2022. This is against the backdrop of mounting federal government borrowings to finance the country’s huge budget deficit. The CBN money and credit statistics showed that as the federal

government continued to borrow, money supply has maintained Month-on-Month (MoM) trajectory growth. M3, according to investopedia. com, is a measure of the money supply that includes broad money (M2) as well as large-time deposits, institutional money market funds, short-term repurchase agreements (repo), and larger liquid assets. Analysts have attributed the surge in money supply to federal government borrowing to finance the budget, hike in the inflation rate, and numerous interventions by the central bank.

They added that Deposit Money Banks (DBMs) lending to the private sector propelled by the Loan-toDeposit Ratio (LDR) policy by the CBN also a contributing factor to money supply in the domestic economy. A financial Economist and Professor of Capital Market at the Nasarawa State University Keffi, Uche Uwaleke told THISDAY that federal government borrowings and distribution of revenue allocation to States and Local Governments by the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) have contributed to a significant increase in money

supply this year. He added that the mounting money supply is aiding hike in the inflation rate and forcing the apex bank to hike its Monetary Policy Rate (MPR). “The CBN has realized that the money supply is getting higher and it is the reason behind hike in MPR to 15.5 per cent from 14 per cent to curtail further rise in inflation rate, ” he added. Further analysis of the CBN statistics also showed that major components M2 and M1 recorded increase in the period under review. The analysis showed that M2 has

added N4.22 trillion or 9.35 per cent to N49.31trillion from N45.09trillion in January 2022, while M1 added N2.85 trillion or 15.31 per cent to N21.44 trillion in August 2022 from N18.559 trillion reported by the CBN in January 2022. According to the CBN data, M2, rose by 25.56 per cent or N9.93 trillion in its Year-on-Year (YoY) growth to N48.8 trillion as of June 2022 from N38.86trillion ending June 2021, while M1 increased by 27.26 per cent or N4.37 trillion YoY to N20.39 trillion as of June 2022 from N16.02 trillion reported June 2021. Also contributing to the huge

growth in money supply in six months of 2022, is the increase in credit to the private sector and government during the period. CBN data showed that credit to the government rose by 55 per cent or N6.4trillion to N17.99 trillion as of June from N11.59 trillion in the corresponding period of 2021. According to the CBN, credit to private sector in its Year-till-Date performance has gained 14.24 per cent to N40.19 trillion in August from N35.18trillion in January 2022. So far in 2022, credit to private Continued on page 32

High CRR Impedes Banks’ Ability to Meet LDR as Many DMBs Default Nume Ekeghe Aside the fear of looming Nonperforming Loans (NPLs), it has emerged that Deposit Money Banks (DMB) inability to meet the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) loan-to-deposit ratio (LDR) are a function of the high cash reserve ratio (CRR). THISDAY findings revealed that a number of DMBs’ LDR are below

65 per cent requirement of CBN as disclosed in their half-year ended June 30, 2022 results. Analysts believe weak LDR by DMBs could also be attributed to the fear of looming Non-performing Loans (NPLs) and a hike in inflation combined with high CRR. CBN had in 2019 raised the LDR of DMBs to 65 per cent in a move to spur growth in the real sector of the economy.

Some DMBs analysed by THISDAY with LDR below CBN’s requirement are Guaranty Trust Bank Plc, Zenith Bank Plc and other Tier-2 banks. The banks reported LDR below the CBN 65 per cent benchmark with an exception of Stanbic IBTC, who reported above the requirement. For instance, GTBank, the banking subsidiary of Guaranty

Trust Holding Company Plc has one of the lowest LDR among Tier-1 bank. GTBank in a presentation to investors/analysts noted that the group’s net loans closed at N1.835 trillion in H1 2022 from N1.803trillion in 2021. The growth, the bank disclosed, is from the N57.6billion increase in the loan book of Nigeria’s operations, due to increased

credit flows to the Corporate (Manufacturing and Telecoms) and Retail Sectors. “The growth was adequate to offset the negative impact of the translation of Subsidiaries’ Loan balances to Naira based on currency adjustment (N425.05/$1 in H1 2022 vs N435/$1 in 2021). “Customer Deposit Liabilities grew by 6.24 per cent or N250.3billion from N4.012trillion

in 2021 to N4.263trillion in H1 2022 as a result of low-cost funds which increased by 6.5 per cent or N224.2billion from N3.438trillion in 2021 to N3.662trillon in H1 2022, resulting in low-cost deposit mix of 85.9per cent from 85.7per cent in 2021. “Time Deposit Portfolio also grew by N26.1billion in response Continued on page 32

M A R K E T D ATA A S AT F R I D AY, S E P T E M B E R 2 3 , 2 0 2 2 BILLS

BONDS DESCRIPTION Price ^14.20 14MAR-2024 13.53 23MAR-2025 ^12.50 22JAN-2026 ^16.2884 17MAR-2027 ^13.98 23FEB-2028

Yield

102.68

12.15

100.37

13.35

98.12

13.20

110.60

13.09

102.81

13.23

Change Updated Time (%) -0.66 September 23, 2022 0.00 September 23, 2022 0.00 September 23, 2022 0.00 September 23, 2022 0.00 September 23, 2022

MATURITY NTB 13-Oct22 NTB 10Nov-22 NTB 26-Jan23 NTB 9-Feb23 NTB 9-Mar23

Discount

CPS

9.00

9.04

3.90

3.92

9.80

10.14

10.00

10.40

Change Updated Time (%) 23, -0.01 September 2022 23, 0.00 September 2022 23, 0.00 September 2022 23, 0.00 September 2022

7.81

23, 0.00 September 2022

7.54

Yield

MATURITY NENL CP I 24-OCT-22 FSDH CP VII 27-OCT-22 SIBP CP III 27-OCT-22 DLMG CP IV 11-NOV-22 FDHP CP III 17-MAR-23

Discount Yield 16.46 16.69 10.57 10.67 9.72

9.81

14.08 14.35 11.52 12.19

Change Updated Time (%) 23, 0.12 September 2022 23, 0.10 September 2022 23, 0.11 September 2022 23, 0.05 September 2022 23, 0.05 September 2022

OTC F X F U T U R E S CONTRACT Current TENOR Contract Rate Updated Time ($/₦) (MONTH) NGUS SEP 28 439.60 September 22, 1 2022 2022 September 22, NGUS OCT 26 2 441.81 2022 2022 NGUS NOV 30 444.01 September 22, 3 2022 2022 NGUS DEC 28 446.22 September 22, 4 2022 2022 NGUS JAN 25 448.43 September 22, 5 2023 2022

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 2022 ˾ T H I S D AY

BUSINESSWORLD

ECONOMY

Catalysing Economies: Can African Sovereign Wealth Funds Do More? Gilbert Ekhwugbe takes a look at the takeaways from the Brown Capital Management Africa Forum’s third Highlevel Meeting for Africa Sovereign Wealth Funds recently hosted by the Wilson Centre, Washington DC vis-à-vis Africa’s economic prospects following the challenges triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war

Keynote Speaker and Senior Director, Africa Investment Forum, AfDB, Chinelo Anohu (C) flanked by President and CEO, Wilson Centre, Ambassador Mark Greene (L) and Founder and Executive Chairman of Brown Capital Management, Mr. Eddie Brown and wife (R) and other participants at the third High-level Meeting for Africa Sovereign Funds organised by the Brown Capital Management Africa Forum at the Woodrow Wilson Centre, Washington DC., USA.

he event was the Woodrow Wilson Centre for International Scholar’s Brown Capital Management Africa Forum High-level Meeting. The theme was, “Strengthening the Role of African Sovereign Wealth Funds in the International Financial System: Interplay between Policy, Governance, and Sustainability.” The platform itself, the Wilson Centre, was instructive. Chattered by the U.S Congress some 54 years ago to connect incisive scholarship to urgent policy questions, Wilson Centre has maintained a top-10 place on the University of Pennsylvania’s Global Go To Think Tank Rankings Survey. Equally, the high-level representation and participation underscored the import of the event and sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) to Africa’s economic future: 60 delegates from 18 countries; CEOs of African SWFs; senior officials from Africa; multilateral and pan-African organisations, business leaders, academic experts, ministers, US officials; and representatives from U.S and international financial and development institutions such as the African Development Bank (AfDB), the African Union, Power Africa, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Africa50, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the US International Development Finance Agency, International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Bank, and world leading universities. So also was the choice of Senior Director, Africa Investment Forum (AIF), AfDB, Chinelo Anohu, as the keynote speaker. According to the moderator, Monde Muyangwa, former Wilson Centre’s Africa Programme Director, ”Anohu has a long track record in formulating investment strategies and brings extensive knowledge of institutional investment practice and experience in attracting new capital, expertise in the development of innovative asset classes spanning pension funds, SWFs, private equity, and private family wealth fund.” Monde, now Assistant Administrator (Africa), United States Agency for International Development (USAID), recalled that Anohu had served as the DG of the National Pension Commission of Nigeria for five years before joining the AfDB and played a pivotal role in the reform of Nigeria’s pension industry, including the enactment of the Nigerian Pension Reform Act of 2004, which established the National Pension Commission and introduced the Contributory Pension Scheme. She also championed a further reform of the industry ten years after, culminating in the Pension Reform Act 2014.

WHY THE FOCUS ON AFRICAN SWFS?

Underscoring the essence of the high-level meeting, President and CEO of Wilson Centre, Ambassador Mark Greene, said the Covid-19 pandemic and the Russo-Ukrainian war had caused economic challenges that have negatively affected development and the wellbeing of the citizens in Africa and around he world. Therefore, this is a crucial moment for all to think about how to pursue the opportunities, including those in SWFs that will take Africa

and the world through these challenges. “As government-owned investment funds, SWFs serve as critical tools for stabilising economy, promoting development and transferring wealth to future generations. In 2021, SWFs managed $9.1 trillion, representing 10 per cent of global Gross Domestic Product (GDP). This high-level meeting will seek to reflect on and share lessons learnt about the impact of global turbulence on the government and performance of these SWFs in Africa. “How can SWFs adapt to these changing times and what roles can they play in stabilizing economies in creating vibrant economic growth that is so key to the continent’s future? It will show lessons on achieving profitability while also promoting social responsibility in environmental sustainability. It will explore strategic avenues for facilitating and expanding intra-African and international partnerships to strengthen the role of SWFs in the international financial system and how multilateral organisations can best support SWFs, ”he stated. Founder and Executive Chairman of Brown Capital Management, Mr. Eddie Brown, regretted that, “Africa does not nearly get the attention it deserves and too often that attention is focused on its challenges, not on its opportunities.” He said the spotlight on SWFs was, “to provide a forum where key stakeholders could gather to share experiences, collaborate to advance SWFs agendas.”

AFRICA’S SWFS LANDSCAPE

The first Sovereign Wealth Fund in Africa was established by Botwana in 1994. Since then, 22 other African nations have established SWFs, while more nations are considering or in the process of establishing one. According to the market and consumer data firm, Statista, Asia topped the SWF table as of July 2022 with $4.97 trillion Asset under management (AUM). Middle East and North Africa came second with $3.91 trillion; Europe came third with $1.67 trillion; Oceania came fourth with $418 billion; North America came fifth with $337 billion; while Sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America came a distant sixth and seventh with paltry $55 billion and $27 billion, respectively. Even in the Middle East and North Africa regional-mapping, only Libya has a substantial AUM of $66 billion. Going by the Global Sovereign Wealth Fund data, of the 17 individual nations with the largest SWFs, 15 are major oil and gas exporters. Regrettably, Nigeria, for instance, can only boast of a marginal $3 billion in the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) despite the high oil prices in the international market. On the contrary, Norway, which exports 1.2million barrels of oil per day, has over $1.3 trillion in savings in her Government Pension Fund Global also known as the

‘Oil Fund’. Saudi Arabia boasts of about $1 trillion in savings. Ditto the UAE. Others are: Kuwait - $738 billion, Qatar - $450 billion, Russia - $191 billion, Kazakhstan $133 billion, Iran - $91 billion, Brunel - $60 billion, and Azerbaijan - $42 billion.

NEED TO TAP DOMESTIC SWFS

The keynote speaker, Chinelo Anohu, called for stronger strategic partnerships and greater involvement of African SWFs build the continent’s economies back and better following the Covid-19 pandemic. According to her, the pandemic has had unequalled and debilitating effects on growth prospects across Africa, further exposing the weaknesses of Africa’s physical and social infrastructure, and the fragility of its largely poor population - especially the youth and women. 40 million people have been pushed into extreme poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa alone, while two decades of development gains in achieving the SDGs have been eroded. Thus, in the face of the current low investments rate, elevated debt levels and risks in the continent, and increased cost of borrowing due to rising inflation in the world’s major economies, local institutional investors, particularly the SWFs, are needed more than ever to channel both longerterm domestic savings and resources to productive uses, which can help drive more sustainable macro-economic growth “Since the coronavirus pandemic struck, SWFs have increasingly focused on investing at home. According to the data from the International Forum of Sovereign Wealth Funds, in 2020, SWF funds brought about $12.7 billion in new investments directly into companies and projects in their domestic economies, more than triple the amount made in 2019. “In Africa, this trend of looking inward for SWF investment brings new opportunities for financing critical infrastructure and human capital projects. “Further development and appropriate regulation of local SWFs can potentially enable these financial institutions to evolve and become important sources of longerterm finance, including for infrastructure. “Financing Africa’s ambitious development agenda calls for an enhanced role for African SWFs as strategic investors, who will support the rise of local and regional financial markets, the financing of the large-scale regional projects, and the industrialization agenda of the continent”, she stated. She, however, lamented that African SWFs were being held back by several factors. “SWFs are often held back from investing optimally in infrastructure and other critical asset classes. This is partly due to the fact that their mandates are not fully aligned with innovative structures that have emerged and they may lack

the familiarity and skills needed to identify and evaluate quality projects”, she observed.

AIF: BRIDGING THE GAP

However, as a multi-stakeholder, multidisciplinary platform, Anohu assures that the AIF, an initiative of the Dr. Akinwumi Adesinaled AfDB and their founding partners -Africa 50, Africa Finance Corporation, AfreximBank, Development Bank of Southern Africa, European Investment Bank, Islamic Development Bank and Trade and Development Bank, “stands ready to fill the gap.” She said that AIF’s ability to leverage the convening power of the AfDB and other founding partners and the ability to crowdin public and private sector financing for transformative projects with developmental impact, puts it in a vantage position to help African SWFs gain volume, traction and impact. “During the pandemic, AIF and its founding partners initiated a unified COVID-19 response, under which 13 projects across 5 relevant sectors. These projects have a collective value of $3.68 billion, and each will help advance Africa’s self-sufficiency and resilience against future shocks. AIF has curated over 300 deals, screened 188 deals valued at approximately $170 billion, and attracted investment interest for about $116.6 billion. “In this year’s AIF virtual boardrooms alone, 136 originated deals were screened, while 41 deals valued at $57.8 billion were successfully curated for the boardroom presentation. These deals have drawn $32.8 billion in confirmed investment interests. “For co-investment opportunities, the AIF presently offers projects across 32 African countries, spanning all critical sectors. Besides return on investment, the AIF emphasises projects that result in the biggest developmental impacts, ensuring that the investments do not only benefit the investors, but also the end users. From our 2021 boardroom deals alone, around 3.8 million jobs are expected to be created (both direct and indirect), with a million jobs specifically targeting women and women entrepreneurs. “AIF also provides international investors a safe entry point for their in-Africa investment. Despite evidence of strong economic growth on the continent, investing in Africa is often deemed risky due to the challenging political and security environment in some markets. In this regard, the AIF capitalises on the vast expertise provided by its seven founding partners and provides a one-stop “shop” for global investors, offering quality, pre-cleared projects, as well as superior business intelligence to unlock bottlenecks where they exist, ”she explained. Citing the $15 billion Lagos-Abidjan highway deal, which was featured in AIF’s March 2022 virtual boardroom meetings, Anohu maintained that it was necessary for African to start to promote big-ticket deals by pooling together expertise and resources. All said, a lot can no doubt, be achieved by mobilsing domestic resources such as the African SWFs to catalyse and build up African economies; and it is up to the Africa, her development partners, investors, and stakeholders to take action.

T H I S D AY ˾ WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 2022

BUSINESSWORLD

FINANCE

Fortifying Payment Architecture Against Fraudsters James Emejo writes that stakeholders including regulatory institutions, banks, and financial technology companies must tighten the noose around fraudsters whose heinous activities have been on the increase in recent times

s initially predicted by all the stakeholders, financial innovations come with their bouquet of opportunities and challenges as evidenced in Nigeria and around the globe. Though breakthroughs in mobile payment technologies have helped to deepen financial inclusion, reduced physical cash handling challenges, and boosted e-commerce among other gains, it has also presented enormous safety concerns, especially amidst the increase in the frequency of security breaches of customers’ accounts. In fact, the rising cases of frauds particularly those associated with electronic payment systems have been on a sharp increase in recent times, raising concerns among regulatory institutions.

FRAUD STATISTICS The number of fraud cases surged by 177.10 per cent to 146,183 in 2020 from 52,754 in 2019, according to the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) 2020 Annual Report. Even though the amount total amount involved in 2020 was N120.79 billion, compared with N204.65 billion in 2019, which marks a decline of 40.98 per cent, the surge in fraud cases remains a growing concern in the financial system. The NDIC stated that the total actual loss fell slightly from N5.46 billion in 2019 to N5.33 billion in 2020, adding that banks sustained the least actual loss of N325 million of the total amount involved during the second quarter of 2020. The third quarter of 2020 recorded the highest actual loss of N2.514 billion or 25.73 per cent of the total value involved in that period. According to the report, only 10 out of 30 banks accounted for N119.204 billion or 99.17 per cent of the total amount involved in frauds and forgeries cases during the year in review.

INCREASING VULNERABILITIES The rise in various digital and online financial products has come with increasing vulnerabilities for consumers in recent times. Some of these products, however laudable they seem, have security gaps that electronic fraudsters have continually taken advantage of. In recent times, there are concerns that losing access to individual mobile devices especially handsets could result in bank accounts being compromised. There has been a good number of people who claimed that their bank accounts were wiped out as soon as their phones were stolen, a development which has further raised concerns about the safety of financial products, particularly what the service providers have done to make it difficult for fraudsters to access bank accounts.

REGULATORY INTERVENTIONS Earlier in June, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) released the Risk-Based Cyber Security Framework and Guidelines for Other Financial Institutions (OFIs), following the recent increase in the number and sophistication of cyber security threats against financial institutions, particularly OFIs. The central bank also set January 1, 2023 as the effective date for full compliance with the provisions of the guidelines. The bank said the directive had become mandatory for institutions to strengthen their cyber defenses if they are to remain safe and sound. In the circular dated June 29, 2022, and signed by the CBN Director, Other Financial Institutions Department, Nkiru Asiegbu, was addressed to all OFIs, the apex bank added that the guidelines represented the minimum requirements to be put in place by all OFIs. The bank stressed that the safety and soundness of OFIs required that they operate in a safe and secure environment, hence the platform on which information is processed and transmitted should be managed in a way that ensures confidentially, integrity and availability of information as well as the avoidance of financial loss and reputation risks, among others. The CBN noted that considering the reliance of financial institutions on information and communications technology (ICT) to operate their business and the rising incidences of cyber threats, and attacks targeted at financial institutions, it had become necessary to implement cyber security measures to mitigate against those risks. The bank specifically noted that threats including ransomware, targeted phishing attacks and Advanced Persistent Threats (APT) had become prevalent, demanding that financial institutions boosted cyber resilience as well as take proactive steps to secure their critical information assets to ensure their safety and soundness. Subsequently, in July, the central bank further directed financial institutions and payment service providers to do more to enhance transparency and proper disclosure of Digital Financial Services (DFS) going forward. The apex bank also mandated Deposit Money Banks (DMBs), merchant banks, Other Financial Institutions (OFIs), Payment Service Banks (PSB) and Other Payment Service Institutions as licensed by the CBN, to boost their fraud prevention and risk management capabilities by providing fraud prevention messages and tips for consumers using both audio and virtual modes of communication in local languages. The central bank further directed the

institutions to monitor fraud reports to identify emerging fraud issues and sensitise their customers on how they can protect their assets, following the growing threats to cybersecurity in recent times. The bank disclosed this in the Exposure Draft on Digital Financial Services Awareness Guidelines, which seeks to address gaps in consumer knowledge and practices with DFS as well as beef up the security of digital services. The central bank noted that DFS has the potential to expand access to financial services for the Nigerian population and spur innovation in the financial services industry. The proposed guidelines provide for a set of principles and expectations for financial service providers to integrate into the provision of DFS to ensure consumer understanding, good treatment, and positive outcomes.

PREVALENT FRAUD CHANNELS According to the NDIC report, however, ATM/Card-Related Fraud had 5 8,193 cases recorded within the review period with losses valued at N1.11 billion. Also, Web-Based (Internet Banking) Fraud accounted for N0.29 billion with 1 1,660 occurrences while fraud associated with internet banking cost the industry N0.98 billion from 18,144 recorded cases within 2020. In addition, fraud related to mobile banking cost the industry N1.23 billion with 25,357 cases while POS fraud stood at N0.36 billion with 14,914 incidences. Similarly, fraud associated with e-commerce resulted in losses amounting to N0.17billion with 5,574 cases.

BUILDING APPROPRIATE DEFENSES According to the central bank, the objective of the guidelines is to among other things create a safer and more secure cyber environment that supports information system security and promotes stability of the OFI sub-sector as well as to promote and maintain public trust and confidence in the sub-sector as well as contribute towards the prevention and combating of cybercrime in the OFI sub-sector. Essentially, the framework provides a riskbased approach to managing cybersecurity risk and consists of six parts including Cybersecurity Governance, and Oversight, Cybersecurity Risk Management System, Cyber Resilience Assessment, Cybersecurity Operational Resilience, Cyber-Threat Intelligence and Metrics, Monitoring and Reporting. The document further spelled out the roles of the board of directors in relation to cybersecurity as well as the appointment

and responsibilities of the Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) among others. Only recent, a disturbing video went viral on social, showing a teenager who specialises in transferring people’s funds by accessing their phones and breaching all security features. It is in view of these compromises that operators and stakeholders need to tighten the noose around the payment system to make it difficult for electronic fraudsters to continue to inflict pain on unsuspecting financial consumers. They should introduce more barriers and firewalls going forward. The framework also seeks to set Digital Financial Literacy (DFL) standards for Digital Financial Services Providers (DFSP), align product development, promotion, and consumer awareness to DFS amongst DFSP, enhance transparency and proper disclosure on DFS as well as provide for the development of financial literacy and consumer education materials on DFS. The guidelines further provided for awareness and access to redress and complaints handling by mandating financial institutions and payment service providers to disclose information on consumer complaints channels, resolutions, and Service Level Agreements (SLAs) in product enrollment materials as well as ensure periodic training of agents and complaints handling staff. In addition, DFS providers shall henceforth disclose all terms, conditions, fees, and other associated charges on product offerings prior to enrollment, ensure integration of data privacy and protection standards into internal policies, and conduct evidence-based awareness campaigns to sensitise consumers on how to protect their assets and sensitive details and develop default settings on DFS which are by nature “opt-out” not “opt-in” of data sharing with third parties, and clear and simple “opt-in” language for sharing of data, as well as ensure privacy to data collection and sharing during product enrollment. The digital service providers are further required to put in place strategies to assess their policies on raising consumer awareness and product usage; develop indicators and performance measures to assess changes in awareness and usage; forward their strategies and performance measures to the Director of Consumer Protection, CBN bi-annually for review. Moreover, they are requested to forward monthly returns on consumer awareness programmes/initiatives conducted to the Director, Consumer Protection, CBN. The CBN guidelines came amidst efforts to safeguard financial services consumers against all forms of abuses and exposure to security threats amidst the growing influence on digital services and payment culture. Last month, the apex bank released the Risk-Based Cybersecurity Framework and Guidelines for OFIs, following the recent increase in the number and sophistication of cybersecurity threats against financial institutions.

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 2022 ˾ T H I S D AY

BUSINESSWORLD

NEWS

L-R: Associate, DI Africa, Dafini Nelson-Jaja; Co-Founder/CEO, DI Africa, Gwen Abiola Oloke, Co-founder- Higher Institutions Football League (HiFL), Mr. Sola Fijabi; Legal Director, DI Africa, Okeimute Akoko; Board Member, Higher Institutions Football League, Ms. Olufunmilayo Onajide and Co-Founder HiFL, Taiwo Ogunwumi during the Higher Institutions League Investment Forum in Lagos… Monday

Sugar Council Reiterates Drive to Boost Foreign Exchange Inflows James Emejo in Abuja The Executive Secretary, National Sugar Development Council (NSDC), Mr. Zacch Adedeji, has said the council is currently implementing measures to unlock the full potential of the sugar sector to attract foreign investment and create jobs for Nigerians. He said one of the strategies was to make the sector to be globally competitive under his administration. Adedeji, in an interview, insisted that the sugar sector remained critical in unlocking the employment potential of the Nigerian economy.

He said through the implementation of the Nigerian Sugar Masterplan, the council had attracted huge investments into the sugar sector under the Backward Integration Programme (BIP). He said, “The federal government, through the National Sugar Development Council is committed to building a globally competitive sugar industry that would boost the local economy, provide jobs for Nigeria’s teeming youth population, and position Nigeria as a net exporter of the commodity. “We at the Council are not resting on our oars in our resolve to revitalize

the nation’s sugar sector as we have continued to come up with sound measures and strategies that would accelerate our drive to attain sugar self-sufficiency. “In our resolve to address the dearth of qualified indigenous manpower and professionals to drive the sugar industry, we established the now famous Nigeria Sugar Institute in Ilorin, Kwara State. According to him, “The Institute has commenced the training of young Nigerian graduates both in field and factory operations through an exchange programme with famous sugar institutes like the National

Sugar Institute, Kanpur, India as well as the Mauritius Sugar Industry Research Institute, in Mauritius. “It is indeed gratifying to state here that Nigeria has since surpassed its sugar refining capacity, and our immediate action plan as a forwardthinking agency of government is to replicate the successes achieved in the area of refining in field operations, which we all know is the heart of the Backward Integration Programme.” He also said the council is working towards boosting local production of the commodity to meet local demands and possible export in the years ahead.

NAICOM to Reintroduce RBS Capital Increase Model Ebere Nwoji Concerned by the perennial low operating capital on which insurance firms in the country sit tightly on the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) has said that its next line of action in its journey towards full adoption and implementation of the Risk Based Supervision (RBS) model of regulation is the upward review of operators’ capital through

the implementation of the Risk Based Capital (RBC). The commission said it has already started working with a supporting agency, FSD Africa on this and very soon the framework would be unveiled. The commissioner for insurance Mr Olorundare Sunday Thomas, who disclosed this at a recent bi -monthly meeting between insurance CEOs and NAICOM said the adoption

and implementation of RBS in Nigeria had achieved appreciable level admitting that support got by the commission from operators has been encouraging and commendable. “Next level is now the Risk Based Capital, (RBC). The Commission is working with the FSD Africa on this and very soon, the framework will be unveiled, ”Thomas said. On full digitisation of the insurance sector, the commissioner, noted that

it seemed some companies did not want to go digital but that such companies were in the minority. He said the commission would ensure that any company that was operating in the market must go digital otherwise, they should look at other sectors to play in. “We will not allow such companies to operate in the insurance sector any more because we must adopt technology to enable optimal growth.

Pension Operators Brainstorm on Addressing Emotions in Workplace Ebere Nwoji Issues bothering on What Emotions Got To Do With The Workplace in the ever changing work environment was the thrust of discussions by over 300 pension professionals at a knowledge sharing session organised by the Pension Operators Association of Nigeria (PenOp) recently.

The online session which was open to pension professionals, sought to answer questions such as: Can I learn how to be emotionally intelligent? How can I master and understand my emotions? Can I understand the emotions of my colleague? The session was facilitated by People and Training Lead at PenOp, Yinka Akande, a

seasoned facilitator adept at helping individuals and businesses upskill as well as in accessing a competent workforce through professional soft skill training and development programmes. She spoke about the critical components of emotional intelligence such as self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy, and social skills.

She was able to identify the various opportunities that come along with applying the values of Emotional Quotient for businesses. Talking about self-awareness, Akande educated the participants on how they can improve on their individual selves and breach communication gaps amongst the DISC personality types.

Experts Canvass Govt, Energy Sector Partnership to Address Transition Funmi Ogundare Participants at the Just concluded 2022 annual conference of Association of Professional Women Engineers (APWEN) has called for a collaboration between the government and energy companies so as to make the Just energy transition achievable and address its sufficiency in Nigeria. The programme held in Abuja, was themed, “Prospects and Challenges on Human Capital Development for a Just Energy Transition in Nigeria.” It was chaired by the President of Nigeria Society of Engineers, Tasiu Saad Gidari-Eudil. The participants drawn from various APWEN chapters said that the country’s crude oil and gas remains a key elixir for the sustainable development and more diversified economy, adding that our overdependence on fossil fuels as primary energy source, has led to myriads of problems such as global climatic change, environmental degradation and other health challenges for the citizens. They opined that the renewable energy sector still has many unexplored potentials and securing the appropriate, partnerships and technology, will go a long way in accelerating large investments in the country and put it in line with the global decarbonisation movement. Earlier in her remarks, the

President of the association, Dr. Elizabeth Eterigho said the theme of the programme, aimed at improving the lives of people and sustaining the environment, was apt, as the transition of the energy sector, will require significant investments. “This, I guess is the reason why the Nigerian government launched an energy transition plan aimed at boosting investments for energy project development to address increasing energy poverty and ensure energy sustainability. This plan includes Nigeria ensuring access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all of its 200 million people by the year 2030 and achieving net-zero by the year 2060 through massive investments in oil, gas, solar and other modern energy technologies such as hydrogen and electric vehicles,” she stated. The Lead Speaker and the Group Executive Director, Upstream of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC), Adokiye Tombomieye commended the leadership of APWEN for the conference and advocating for women in STEM, saying that it is a catalyst for national development. He emphasised on the role of energy in economic growth and that the sustainable development of a nation’, cannot be overemphasised.

at the last MPC meeting said, “The industry’s total credit to the economy increased by N5.02 trillion or 22.78per cent between June 2021 and June 2022. Gross industry credit, which stood at N27.06 trillion in June 2022, has risen steadily since 2019, largely due to the Bank’s LDR policy. “Analysis of the interest rate band reveals that 65.9per cent of customers

borrowed a total of N4,768.0 billion at interest rates of less than 15 per cent as of June 2022, suggesting that interest rates are declining as credit to the real sector of the economy continues to increase. As of June 2022, a total of N3,378.0 billion was lent to beneficiaries at less than a 10 per cent interest rate through the CBN intervention funds.”

cost-push inflation at the moment.” The Vice President, Highcap securities limited, Mr. David Adnori, stated that the 0.85 per cent marginal growth in credit to private sector in August

demonstrated how double-digit inflation has affected nominal demand for Naira by private sector businesses, given continuing rise in input cost and the usual burden of imported inflation.

HIGH CRR IMPEDES BANKS’ ABILITY TO MEET LDR AS MANY DMBS DEFAULT to increased competition from FinTech’s and Tier 2 Banks who offered higher interest rates, thereby contributing 14.1per cent to Total Deposits in H1-2022 from 14.3per cent in 2021. Strong execution of the Group’s Retail strategy in the face of challenging operating environment was pivotal to deposit growth.”

On its part, Zenith Bank reported 51.20 per cent in H1 2022 from 54.10 in 2021 while Fidelity Bank recorded improved LDR to 66.1per cent compared to 62.9per cent in 2021 after weighting all permissible loans such as mortgage, SME, consumer loans, among others, while Stanbic IBTC disclosed that its LDR for H1 2022 averaged

79.95per cent. Commenting, Head, Financial Institutions Ratings at Agusto & Co, Mr. Ayokunle Olubunmi, noted that the requirement for liquid assets and CRR already gulp 57.8 per cent living very little to encourage lending to which he urged for some easing. He said: “It is going to be difficult

for banks to meet this requirement, especially now that the CRR regime is getting very tight. It is presently affecting banks’ ability to give out loans.” A member of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the CBN and Associate Professor of Economics, Ahmadu Bello University, Aliyu Sanusi had in his personal statement

MONEY SUPPLY RISES TO N49.36TRN AMID FEDERAL GOVERNMENT’S BORROWING sector has added N5.01 trillion despite severe macro economic challenges in the banking sector. The CBN statistics disclosed that credit to private sector gained 0.85 per cent Month-on-Month growth

from N39.85trillion in July 2022 to N40.19trillion in August. Speaking to THISDAY recently, analyst at PAC Holdings, Mr. Wole Adeyeye explained to THISDAY that, “The increase in credit to

private sector is not expected to create more jobs as businesses are facing the high cost of inputs, mainly driven by high inflation. “Nigeria’s inflation rate at 20.52per cent in August 2022.

This shows that businesses will have to borrow more to produce (most times, below the maximum production level). Demand-pull inflation may create more jobs but unfortunately, Nigeria is witnessing

T H I S D AY ˾ ͰͶ˜ ͰͮͰͰ

CITYSTRINGS

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Reiterating Commitment to Put Lagos on World Tourism Map In celebration of World Tourism Day marked annually on September 27, the Commissioner of the Lagos Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture, Uzamat Akinbile-Yussuf rolls out the achievements of the ministry with a renewed commitment to attracting more tourists and helping creatives in the state, writes Vanessa Obioha

he emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic left a marked effect on all aspects of the global economy. While sectors like online streaming platforms and big online retail stores recorded high-profit margins, others like tourism and SMEs suffered great losses. Data released by the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) revealed that the global tourism industry lost over $1.3 trillion due to a 74 per cent decline in global travel stemming from strict healthcare guidelines in 2020. Unfortunately, this had turned into a bane to the new set of political leaders who assumed power in 2019. One such person is the Commissioner of the Lagos Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture, Uzamat Akinbile-Yussuf. The halt to global travel meant that policies proposed by the ministry could not be actualised. However, interventions were made by the Lagos State Government through Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu to ensure that the sector was bailed out months after restrictive measures were lessened. "The governor of Lagos State gave an approval to release the large sum of N1 billion to assist the tourism sector to ensure that immediately after the pandemic, it will come back to life, and we never stopped at that. After the pandemic we came back to life immediately," Yussuf revealed. Today, the tourism sector in Lagos state has recorded many successes that could be translated into the sheer amount of tourism-driven programmes it supports. In 2021 alone, it published the Tourism Arts and Culture Calendar, detailing over 80 programmes such as the Lagos Theatre Festival, and World Culture Day. These initiatives formulated to support the tourism and creative sector continued to date, all, in efforts to spur economic growth and diversify the revenue channels of the state.

Akinbile-Yussuf (m) at Lagos tourism roundtable At a recent roundtable organised by the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture, Akinbile-Yussuf reiterated the ministry's commitment to continue in its vision of empowering creatives to boost tourism in the state. Citing the Lagos State Tourism Master Plan, the ministry aims to attract about 4.3 million tourists, which in turn will provide about 133,000 direct and indirect jobs contributing about 4.5 per cent to the national GDP in 2023. She further disclosed that through the Sanwo-Olu-led government, the ministry has acquired a large expanse of land along the Epe axis to establish

the Lagos Film City. Currently undergoing perimeter fencing, she said it is a long-term project that would boost the quality, reach, and perception of local content in the coming years. Akinbile-Yussuf explained that the various ongoing human capacity development projects under the Lagos State Creative Industry Initiative (LACI) that is facilitated through creative hubs like Del-York Creative Academy, EbonyLife Creative Academy, Africa Film Academy, and Gidi Creative Centre, have empowered close to 3,000 creatives. "As of September 2022, we have trained close to 3000 youths in the creative industry and those trained in filmmaking had some of their films premiered at the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival and with our resolution to ensure

we support all these youths in their different endeavours, we believe that they will contribute in immense quantity towards the GDP of Lagos economy as well as Nigerian economy." Additionally, the initiative commenced with the provision of non-interest loans to creatives. Within a short span, it has granted over 50 creatives with loan facilities up to N5 million. "We believe that if we build the capacity of the youths, then we can export our talents. We have started by creating an enabling environment for the younger generation," Yussuf said. Just like it did last year under the T.H.E.M.E.S. agenda propagated by Lagos State, the Commissioner assured all that the ministry would throw its weight behind projects that promote tourism and entertainment this year. She believes tourism should be "community-based". By and large, she was appreciative of the support from the government and stakeholders, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. "We came into the administration with the COVID-19 pandemic, and we have been able to sustain the industry despite the impact of the pandemic on the economy, and the sector majorly affected by the pandemic is tourism and entertainment. "But even during the peak of the pandemic, Lagos State was the only state in the federation that ensured that entertainment and tourism thrived," Yussuf concluded. From bagging the World Guinness Record for laying the largest cupcakes mosaic in world history to the establishment of a special interestfree loan for filmmakers tagged ‘Lagos film fund,’ refurbishing and officially commissioning the Glover Hall theatre, and erecting the John Randle Centre for Yoruba culture and history, Akinbile-Yusuf said Governor Sanwo-Olu deserves all the accolades for further putting Lagos on the world map of tourism.

Colonisation Was a Startup: A Renewed Call for Restoration of Africa's Heritage Oswald Osaretin Guobadia

eptember 2022: Just recently, the trailer for Black Panther 2: Wakanda Forever, was received with delight because fans of Marvel Studios will get to enjoy another epic cinematic work that follows the release of Black Panther 1 in 2018. Sincerely, I love the visual attraction of the film but as a proud African man, the film is not merely another success story for Marvel Studios, the producers of the film, but a continued celebration of our heritage and the display of it to a global audience that has now realized how wonderful Africa, its people, and cultures are. Now, in one of the first scenes of the 2018 release, Erik "Killmonger" Stevens (played by Michael B. Jordan) is examining a variety of African artefacts in front of a museum display when the museum director approaches and offers to tell him more about the pieces. This part of the film may have been one scene, but it tells the over one-century story of Africa; who we are, and how far we have come. It is the year 2022 and the clamour for the return of Africa’s artefacts that were taken away by European countries over a century ago is still raging. But how did we get here? Africa, before the invasion of the Europeans, was already experiencing a great measure of civilization and did not need a third party to colonise her. We were on the way to our civilization and this would have revolutionised the way we did things. According to the stories we were told, Africa was not just the birthplace of humanity but also the cradle of early civilisations that made an immense contribution to the world. The most notable example is Kemet – the

Guobadia original name of ancient Egypt, which first developed in the Nile valley over 5,000 years ago and was one of the first monarchies. But the ancient Benin Kingdom was the real Wakanda as it was a powerhouse among other Kingdoms in Africa. Oba Ewuare I, who reigned from 1440 to 1473, is widely credited with transforming the kingdom into a modern state. He was also associated with architectural advancements, city planning, elaborate celebrations, and the introduction of royal beads. He finished the first and second moats; a network of walls that surrounded the city and protected it from external aggressors, extending over 16,000 kilometres and enclosing 6,500 square kilometres of common property. So great was the civilization of the Benin Kingdom that Portuguese ship captain, Lourenço Pinto, wrote in 1691, “Great Benin, where the king resides, is larger than Lisbon; all the streets run straight and as far as the eye can see.

“The houses are large, especially that of the king, which is richly decorated and has fine columns. The city is wealthy and industrious. It is so well governed that theft is unknown and the people live in such security that they have no doors to their houses.” The Benin moat was defined by The Guinness Book of World Records in 1974 as the largest earthwork in the world before mechanical inventions, and it is considered the largest man-made invention, second only to the Great Wall of China. Colonisation disrupted what could have been described as Africa’s natural and steady growth to become one of the world’s most advanced continents. The renewed call for the return of our artefacts could not have come at a better time. Today, many black people are tracing their roots to Africa and I am fascinated by this. Ghana holds the Year of Return, an event that attracts black foreigners to Africa and helps them find their roots. Some took DNA tests and they successfully traced their ancestry to Africa. Interestingly, one such person is the famous Hollywood actor, Samuel L. Jackson, who traces his roots to the Bantu tribe in Gabon. However, at the British Museum in London, the Louvre Museum in Paris, the MFA in Boston, the Royal Museum for Central Africa in Belgium, the Metropolitan Museum in New York, and several other global museums, African artworks have been kept for many decades. According to French art historians, an estimated 90% of Africa's cultural heritage is in Europe. The Musée du quai Branly–Jacques Chirac in Paris alone holds around 70,000 African artefacts, and London's British Museum has tens of thousands more. Others can be found in the Museum of

Fine Arts, Boston, as well as the Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, both in the United States. You may be wondering, “why is he harping on this subject?” Well, to many who do not know, Art is life! Although I do not see myself as a collector, I believe I am a serious admirer of the art forms and talents that are engaged to create them. This is why we are focused on continually advancing Africa, her talents, and works, through initiatives such as the Edo Museum of West African Art (EMOWAA), and the Edo Global Art Foundation where renowned artist, Enotie Ogbebor, and I have played active roles in mentoring artists for the last five years. The Edo Global Arts Foundation is a non-profit organisation dedicated to promoting and supporting African arts and culture. Through the arts and crafts it produces, the Foundation aims to further develop Edo State and empower its citizens and inhabitants. Edo Global connects the globe to Edo State with innovative solutions and strong art history, thereby ensuring innovation from Igun street to the Oba’s Palace, and Ring Road, all of which are arts and cultural landmarks in the Benin Kingdom. Our work represents solutions to economic development, social cohesion, and income prospects for people and the state as a whole. As a result, we support, promote, advocate for, and celebrate arts and artists. -Guobadia is a Senior Special Adviser, Digital Transformation to the President of Nigeria. NOTE: Interested readers should continue in the online edition on www.thisdaylive.com

T H I S D AY ˾ WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 28, 2022

EDUCATION As AHOSA Celebrates Retired Principals After 35 years of actively impacting students’ lives in the senior and junior arms of the school, Ansar-Ud-deen High School Falolu Road Surulere Old Students’ Association recently organised a send-off party to celebrate outstanding principals of the school who have left their footprints for the cause of humanity. Sunday Ehigiator reports

L-R: President, AHOSA, Mr. Raﬁu Williams; celebrants/outgone principals of the school, Mrs. Afusat Abiodun Ogunbadero (junior school), Mrs. Nimotalahi Folashade Moronkeji (senior school); former Biology teacher/Principal of the school, Alhaja Wosamot Adegoke; and BoT Chairman, AHOSA Education Trust Fund, Alhaji Raﬁu Adisa Ebiti at the event ˝

t was a moment of exaltation and thanksgiving on September 21, 2022, as well-wishers, students, teachers, parents, and alumni of Ansar-ud-deen High School, Falolu Road, Surulere, Lagos, gathered to bid the principals farewell after decades of instilling knowledge and character in students, some of whom are currently leaders in their various career paths. In attendance were celebrants and outgone principals of the school, Mrs Nimotalahi Folashade Moronkeji (senior school) and Mrs Afusat Abiodun Ogunbadero (junior school). The event also ushered in two new principals, (for the first time) an alumnus of the school) Dr Mrs Sherifat Ajoke Yusuf to head the senior arm, while Mrs Adijat Kuburat Dalazi will be in charge of the junior school. In his welcome address, the President of AHOSA, Mr Rafiu Williams, said the send-off party was a continuation of the intention of the old students to give back to their school just as they had received. He said the two outgoing principals had done well for the school, adding that during their tenure, there was no negative report about the school either from external or internal sources. Also, speaking about the old students’ decision always to give back to the school, the BoT Chairman, AHOSA Education Trust Fund, Alhaji Rafiu Ebiti, said, “I believe in everything that has

to do with education, and this is the driving force. It has been said and proven that with education, you can change the lives of people and lift people out of poverty into prosperity. It is education and knowledge that makes the man. This is why I am very disposed to anything that has to do with education and knowledge.” He added, “In the case of Ansarud-deen High School, Falolu Surulere, I am overwhelmed. Because whatever I am today, I can attribute 80 per cent of it in terms of values to this school. So if the school has given me so much, I don’t think there is enough I can do to make the school better and improve the lots of the current students. For the first time, we are getting an old student of this school to become a principal, and that is a big achievement when looking at the structure of Lagos State.” Also speaking, the chairman of the occasion, the Tutor General and Permanent Secretary Lagos State Education District IV, Olusegun Osinaike, described the two outgoing principals as resilient, dogged and

rugged. According to him, they took all education policies with ease and accomplished whatever the government set out as a goal. Commending the old students, a former Biology teacher/principal of the school, Alhaja Wusamot Adegoke, said, “Here in this school, I worked as a teacher, I worked as head of the department, as vice principal, and as principal. So you see all these grown-up men that you now see. I was privileged to see them. I grew with them from year one till when they finished. If I were to be reincarnated, I’d be a teacher.” The guest of honour and National Chief Missioner Ansar-Ud-Deen Society of Nigeria, Sheikh Abdulrahman Ahmed, lamented indiscipline had worsened in schools. “I think we all share the fault. Part the parents, part the teachers and part the government. It will continue to be like this unless we decide to change our commitments,” said Ahmed. The newly appointed principal and an alumnus of the school, Dr (Mrs) Sherifat Ajoke Yusuf, thanked the school’s stakeholders for their confidence in her. Yusuf promised to be a good ambassador just as she continued to improve on the achievements of their predecessor. In an interview with THISDAY, the outgone principal (senior school), Mrs Moronkeji, said she was elated, happy and fulfilled to retire after 35 years of active service and 60 years of age.

“I have turned out graduates. I have impacted many children, a lot of children, especially girls. It’s not a girl’s school. However, I love mentoring girls, and due to the set of students being sent to us, some from average homes and some from illiterate parents, we have told them that the only thing they could gain from this school is not to be mentored as a hooligan or half baked, but rather becoming a graduate and a career lady.” Mrs Ogunbadero told THISDAY she was redeployed to Ansar-ud-deen in 2021 and has spent a year and few months. Ogunbadero, who had worked in various schools before Ansar-Ud-Deen High School, said she was happy retiring with her head high. “Looking back, 2020, when I was made the principal of Akoka Junior High School, all the students passed their Junior Basic Education Examination. Now at Ansar-ud-deen, in the result of the present set, they also did well,” she explained. “Out of 372 students that sat for the examinations, we had only two resits and one failed. This is a major highlight for me.” The newly appointed principal of the school, who is also an alumnus, Dr Yusuf, thanked the school’s stakeholders for their confidence in her. Yusuf promised to be a good ambassador while she continued to improve on the achievements of her predecessors.

Oando Foundation Takes Hygiene Awareness to Schools Uchechukwu Nnaike To ensure that children understand their environmental responsibilities and become change agents, Oando Foundation partnered Sumitomo Chemical to execute the second phase of the Clean Our World (COW) project in 12 of its adopted public primary schools in five Lagos communities. Through the project, the organisers said over 13,000 children, teachers, government education managers and community members were reached with the knowledge of sustainable environmental practices and proper waste management approaches. The project strengthened the capacity of 205 stakeholders on environmental education and upcycling, instituted a community-level waste collection protocol, and recruited volunteers demonstrating a stronger commitment to adopting better waste management practices. Through the initiative, 8,570kg of recyclable waste was collected

in target communities, and proceeds from the buyback scheme were substituted for basic school supplies and donated to participating schools. Clean-up and sensitisation campaigns were also executed across five communities, encouraging environmentally responsible behaviours among residents. The close-out event was recently held at the Lagos State Universal Basic Education Board (LSUBEB) Auditorium, Maryland, to celebrate achievements from the COW phase two project and award prizes to the best performing schools. The head of the foundation, Ms Adekanla Adegoke, said the project was geared toward climate action and noted that the COW II performance exceeded 320 per cent. She added that the children could also tell their parents the proper thing to do and become conscious citizens within the community. Adegoke said the project also involved training of trainers,

Representatives of Oando Foundation and LSUBEB, beneﬁciaries of the COW II project, during the presentation of prizes to the best performing school advocacy to ensure that the project is replicated in the curriculum by the government, and setting up sanitation and environment clubs in schools and school gardens where the pupils learn how to plant trees and grow different crops. She said the foundation’s 2023-27 strategy has a strong component of environment education where it hopes to

replicate the best practices of COW phases one and two. According to her, the ultimate aim is to advocate for the integration of environment education in schools’ curricula after the project must have been replicated in many schools. Under its core programme, the Adopt-A-School Initiative, Oando Foundation had previously partnered Sumitomo

Chemical through the establishment of solar-powered digital learning centres in eight adopted schools and two ECCD classes is bridging the existing gaps in digital literacy and pre-primary education. ICT teachers now have access to various audio-visual teaching materials and ECCD teachers have their capacity strengthened in ECCD curriculum delivery

and use of participatory and collaborative teaching methodologies. The permanent board member in charge of co-curricular activities at SUBEB, Mrs Sherifat Abiodun Adedoyin, described the programme as a welcome development that will help sanitise the environment, community, state and the country. She said through the project, pupils were taught how to be independent and turn waste into wealth by creating household items with all the things referred to as waste. To sustain the project, she said the board already established environmental clubs in schools so that the project will continue under the club activities. Following the assessor’s report, Ishaga Close Primary School emerged as the best performing school and received a public address system and a pledge by the foundation to remodel and provide a new set of furniture for its Early Childhood Care and Development (ECCD) classroom.

T H I S D AY ˾ WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 28, 2022

EDUCATION

Teach For Nigeria Gives Lagos Partners UNICEF, Inaugurates Nigerian N2m Grant to Two Alumni Learning Passport Uchechukwu Nnaike

Teach For Nigeria (TFN), a nonprofit organisation dedicated to building a movement of Nigeria’s most promising leaders across the country, has awarded two of its alumni a seed grant of N1 billion each to scale their initiatives to address educational challenges in the country. The two winners emerged at the end of an incubation hub pitch competition sponsored by SNEPCo. The Incubation Hub Programme, launched in July, was to support Teach for Nigeria alumni in the social innovation space with relevant resources needed to drive their initiatives focused on promoting access to education for children in marginalized communities. At the event, five innovators selected as part of the cohort for the 2022 Incubation Hub had the opportunity to pitch for N1 million in seed funding. The innovators were Oluwaseun Kayode of Schoolinka, Zainab Akintayo of Smart Garden Concept, Odinakachukwu Nwosu representing VirtualXcursions, Aramide of Talentmine Academy, and Obasanjo Fajemirokun of Brace-Up The Young. At the end of the pitch, Odinakachukwu Nwosu and Oluwaseun Kayode emerged winners and were awarded N1 million each to expand their initiatives. In her remarks, the TFN

CEO, Folawe Omikunle, said that participants are equipped with the practical knowledge required to build and sustain their social innovations through the incubation hub. “This is one of the essentials of building a society where innovation and other creative ideas can be used to develop society and improve the quality of learning,” said Omikunle. Dr Isa Omagu, CEO of Premier Advisory Limited and a judge at the event, encouraged using social innovations to solve social problems and stated that innovators who presented their business ideas underwent structured business training and understood the business models of running a sustainable venture. Reacting to his win, Kayode, founder of Schoolinka and a pioneer member of the alumni body, said, “I came with high hopes for the pitch competition, and I believe I have a solid product that the panels found very viable, scalable, sustainable, and a credible venture worth supporting. Schoolinka intends to intentionally scale to remote communities in the country with limited internet access, including some communities in other African countries.” The incubation hub is a three-month intensive enterprise development training that provides opportunities for TFN alumni to grow and scale their enterprises.

Northern Hibiscus to Eradicate Poverty through Quality Education Uchechukwu Nnaike

A non-governmental organisation, Northern Hibiscus Initiative (NHI), has restated its commitment to addressing the educational needs of indigent children between the ages of two to five by providing them with a highly subsidized basic education in a conducive environment with modern learning facilities. The organisation, committed to rallying support for the socio-economic development of northern Nigeria, unveiled its plans for the Edu Kids Academy project during a virtual press conference. Highlighting the vision and mission of the academy, the founder of the NGO, Aisha Falke, stated that Edu Kids commenced operations in September 2019 with 125 pupils from less privileged homes. She said the organisation’s ultimate goal is to see northern Nigeria be at par with its southern counterpart in every aspect starting from the foundation which is education. “We have discovered that education is a powerful tool we can use to liberate people from the shackles of poverty. Compared to other parts of the country, the north is far behind. We are determined to bridge the gap by providing highly affordable and quality education, which we believe will help us achieve our goal in the long run. The whole

idea is to catch them young that is why we have started with little children because they are the future.” “The task is quite enormous but we are committed to galvanising the much-needed support from well-meaning Nigerians, international donor organisations, and corporate bodies to key into this laudable programme which will be beneficial not just to northern Nigeria alone, but to the entire country,” Falke added. She said the school is currently operating from a temporary site in Kano Municipal, equipped with conducive blocks of classrooms, recreational facilities, toilet facilities, toys, computers, learning aids, among others. “As part of the expansion plan, we have acquired a piece of land for the permanent site in Kano, to accommodate both primary and post-primary school classes which we hope to commence the infrastructural development as soon as we can raise the required funding. “We have designed a prototype of the proposed structure. When completed it should be able to conveniently accommodate 1,500 students at once,” Falke stated. She said the Northern Hibiscus Initiative, established in May 2019, hopes to contribute to the country’s ability to achieve the United Nations 2030 agenda on Sustainable Development.

Funmi Ogundare

The Lagos State government, in partnership with UNICEF, has inaugurated the Nigerian Learning Passport (NLP), a digital learning tool designed to close the poverty gap with a focus on equitable quality learning for children, youths and teachers across the country. It also aims to drive improved learning outcomes through high-quality, portable education to support their entry into other education or opportunity pathways, including formal and non-formal education. Speaking at the launch held

recently in Lagos, the Chief of Lagos Field Office UNICEF, Celine Lafoucriere, expressed concern about how the world has fallen off track in realising the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)4, adding that school closures hindered the learning of 50 million students in Nigeria during the peak of COVID-19 pandemic. “While nothing can replace face-to interaction with teachers and peers in the classroom, the learning passport will provide learning opportunities even when school attendance isn’t feasible or when children need to revise at home to bridge

the learning poverty gap,” Lafoucriere stated. She described digital literacy as not just the right thing to do but can be a key driver for economic growth, competitive business as well as a national advantage for Nigeria. She commended the Lagos State Ministry of Education for keying into the initiative, noting that “to narrow digital inequalities, everyone must be involved, we need governments like Lagos State to take ownership whilst UNICEF commits to engaging young people on Generation Unlimited Nigeria ( GenU 9JA) to leverage innovation,

widen models of cooperation, and ensure private sector collaboration.” The Commissioner for Education, Mrs Folashade Adefisayo, who inaugurated the NLP, said it would be a key driver to ensure that the children are well educated. She emphasised the importance of investing in technology and said it would go a long way in building essential 21-century skills and promoting creativity and collaboration. She thanked UNICEF, saying the state is willing to take ownership of the project provided it is sustainable.

A cross-section of pupils of Edu Kids Academy, being educated by the Northern Hibiscus Initiative

Human Capital Africa Launches Tools to Tackle Learning Crisis Human Capital Africa (HCA) has again sought attention to the scale of the learning crisis in Africa, where nine out of 10 children cannot read with understanding by age 10. The event was held on the sidelines of the UN Transforming Education Summit in New York and was attended by heads of state, ministers of education, business leaders, civil society organisations and prominent African intellectuals. The organisation noted that the scale of the learning crisis in Africa is being more widely understood, with a range of international and African leaders making important commitments to prioritise foundational learning over the coming years. As the continent most affected by the learning crisis, Africa is taking a leading role in designing and delivering solutions. The

HCA Learning Scorecard ranks countries in SSA on the quality of primary education. Countries are scored on indicators in six categories, including enrolment, completion, learning, resourcing, remediation and socio-economic factors. These represent the ability of the education sector to provide quality education to children at a young age to prepare them for a future of learning. At the launch, HCA founder Dr Oby Ekekwesili said: “It has been incredibly encouraging to see recognition of the learning crisis at this summit and to see the level of commitment amongst African leaders, policymakers and policymakers business leaders to address the generational challenge the learning crisis represents. This is a problem we are going to crack.” She added, “It is clear from

the results of our inaugural HCA scorecard that we have considerable work to do, with the majority of countries scoring poorly on our 2022 indicators. By providing these benchmarks, we have an opportunity to celebrate the countries making advances and to focus on those that need most help.” Commenting on Malawi’s participation in the inaugural scorecard, Minister for Education Agnes Nyalonge said: “We have adopted the HCA scorecard because we know that taking known and reliable data and using it to guide our actions means we are better able to develop policies and better able to implement them. Our number one reform is to focus on data-informed decision making and we are using it to guide our response.” The President of Guinea

Bissau, Umaro Sissoco Embaló, speaking in his capacity as Chairman of ECOWAS, reinforced his commitment to take action and noted that “nine out of 10 children cannot read a simple sentence by the age of 10, this is an issue of the utmost importance and Africa must not let itself be left behind.” The importance of foundational learning to the business community was recognised by Aliko Dangote, President of the Dangote Group of companies, who said: “This learning crisis is getting worse by the day and has consequences far beyond the classroom. By 2030, about a quarter of the world’s population under the age of 25 will be in or from Africa. So the economic prospects, not only of Africa but of the world, depend on the skills, capabilities and productivity of our youth.”

Lagos Free Zone Awards Scholarships to Indigent Students Lagos Free Zone, a subsidiary of Tolaram, has awarded scholarships to six brilliant indigent students within its host communities as part of its corporate social responsibility and strategy for strengthening community relations. Each of the beneficiaries went home with a cheque of N100,000 at an event held at the company’s Corporate Headquarters in the zone and attended by leaders and members of the communities. The beneficiaries drawn from the six host communities of Idotun, Magbon Segun, Okunraye, Ilekuru, Oke Segun, and Itoki were Oladunjoye Zainab Abimbola (HND Chemical

Engineering), Lawal Halimat Titilope (BA French Language), Akanni Lateefat Damilola (BA, History and International Studies), Adebayo Ridwan Abiola (HND Agriculture), Alogba Wasiu Ibironke (B.Sc. Mathematics), and Ogundipe Rukayat Omobolanle (B.Sc. Computer Science Education). According to the Chief Executive Officer of Lagos Free Zone, Mr Dinesh Rathi, the scholarship is part of the company’s commitment to contribute its quota towards the educational and economic development of the communities through human capital development. Rathi explained that the company has chosen to support

the academic aspirations of these young students in line with its desire to entrench a lasting legacy of impact on the communities. “As a company, we believe education remains a strong legacy we can impart on the people. We know that many students within the host communities have had to drop out of school due to financial challenges. We believe this should not be the case, given its dire implication for development. Hence, we will continue to sponsor these types of programs so that society, including our host communities, can grow and future leaders emerge,” he said. While congratulating the beneficiaries, he urged them to

continue to work hard at their studies and strive to achieve excellence, noting that their future is guaranteed if they continue on that path. The General Manager, Sustainability, Lagos Free Zone, Vishal Shah, stressed further that the company had, over the years, supported the host communities through numerous initiatives, including Tolaram Science Challenge, in which exemplary students from schools within the Ibeju-Lekki axis compete to win the ultimate prize every year. Shah stated that outstanding successes in qualifying examinations from participating schools are an excellent testament to the significant impact of the initiative.

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 2022 ˾ T H I S D AY

BUSINESS/MONEYGUIDE

LESG, Stakeholders to Validate Lagos’ 30 Year Devt Plan at Ehingbeti Summit Gilbert Ekwugbe The Lagos Economic Summit Group (LESG) has stated that it would strengthen its partnership with stakeholders in the private sector to be validate the Lagos State’s 30 year development plan at the Ehingbeti Summit. The Summit scheduled to hold on the 11th and 12th of October, 2022, at the Eko Hotel and Suites in Lagos is a special Summit compared to the previous Summits held in the past according to the Chief Operations Officer, Lagos Economic Summit Group, (LESG), Simisola Otuyalo, who spoke on the sidelines of the Ehingbeti Summit activation exercise at the Lagos State secretariat. Otuyalo said the ninth Ehingbeti Summit is a special one as the summit would bring together the private sector and the public sector to discuss

policies and initiatives to help develop the State. “This summit is a special one, because we are coming up with a 30 year development plan and we have gone to stakeholders across the State to come together to bring this plan. We are using this summit to present the plan to ensure that we have the buyin of every stakeholder so that we all know that we have a plan that would run the State in the next 30 years,” she added. “This is different from the past Summits we have had. We are meeting to discuss the plan and validate it for implementation. The plan will not be implemented by the State government alone and that is why we are collaborating with all stakeholders. From now on, we will begin to run that 30 year plan as part of the Summit we would be having after this so that we know that we are on

track, “she said. She said based on the Ehingbeti Summit platform, every participant is a dignitary, maintaining that every stakeholder is seen as a development partner of Lagos. Also speaking, the Director, Lagos Bureau of Statistics, Tayo Oseni Ogbe, noted that the summit would provide a platform for investors to address the challenges and seek new innovative ways to encourage the building of and development of Lagos. “We expect Ehingbeti of 2022 to bring in more investors to our city through the use of data for development. The present administration is using the THEMES agenda, using evidence-based data and we also hope that within the next few years, Lagos will be like most developed cities across the world, “he said.

MARKET INDICATORS

Winners of EFInA/GIZ Hackathon Challenge Emerge EFInA and GIZ have announced the winners of its recently concluded ‘MSME Finance... Breaking Barriers’ Ideathon-Hackathon. The hackathon challenged innovative developers to develop groundbreaking solutions to help facilitate microbusinesses’ access to finance from formal sources in Nigeria. As committed financial service providers (FSPs) introduce these solutions into the market, the aim is to facilitate MSMEs’ access to formal credit to increase their overall contribution to the economy.

While commending FSI for successfully implementing the Ideathon-Hackathon, Mr. Isaiah Owolabi, CEO, EFInA, stated that driving access to financial inclusion is one of the biggest ways to end poverty in Nigeria, “and part of this is ensuring that MSMEs can have access to finance and help accelerate the impact of a lot of interventions.” He further explained that technology is an enabler hence the reason EFInA and GIZ organised the hackathon, to ensure that innovation and technology are leveraged to accelerate the

impact of financial inclusion intervention in Nigeria. The Cluster Coordinator, Sustainable Economic Development Cluster (SEDEC) and Head of Programme, Pro-Poor Growth, and Promotion of Employment in Nigeria – SEDIN, GIZ, Markus Wauschkuhn, congratulated the winners of the IdeathonHackathon. He stated that the winning solutions when implemented would help break some of the limiting barriers MSMEs face thereby enabling the sector to deliver more gains to the nation.

Norsworthy Deepens Agric investment with over 250,000 Oil Palm Trees A Philanthropist and Chairman of Norsworthy Agro Allied Company Limited, Dr. Gabriel Ogbechie, has taken further steps to deepen his human capital development strides as well as provide job opportunities for the teeming youth in the South southern part of the nation namely Delta state. The latest in this quest is the conjunction with Delta State government for the construction of a multi-billion Naira Agro allied industrial palm plantation built on a vast 1,400 hectare of land owned by Akwukwu-Igbo, Ugbolu and Ilah communities in Oshimili North Local Council of Delta state. The oil mill plantation whose idea was conceived with the dual purpose of job provision for the youth as well as tackling the menace

of food insecurity in the nation was inspected by the governor of Delta State, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa, Dr. Gabriel Ogbechie, Kings and Chiefs of the community including the staff and management of the company. Speaking at the inspection of the Oil Palm Plantation and Refinery under construction at Akwukwu-Igbo, Oshimili North Local Government Area of the State by the Governor Ifeanyi Okowa , the Chairman of Northsworthy Farms and Allied Industries Limited, Dr Gabriel Ogbechie, thanked the governor for his support and vision for the project. He said that the company plans to expand further with the acquisition of additional 600 hectares of land at Ubulu-Uku in Aniocha

South Local Government Area, and affirms its commitment to support Delta State government’s diversification plans with the sector. He said that the project was conceived about four years ago will help to address crisis affecting agricultural development and food sufficiency need of the country and has successfully planted over 250,000 oil palm trees in over 1,400 hectares of land. This giant stride being undertaken by Norsworthy is largely justified by the fact that palm oil is a key ingredient in the production of several items in the market and these include soap, cosmetics, biscuits, pharmaceuticals, margarine, detergent, lubricants, candles, feed stock and so on.

Fidelity Partners SMEDAN to Empower SMEs Nume Ekeghe Fidelity Bank has announced its partnership with Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency (SMEDAN) in its bid to bridge the gap in helping small businesses access much-needed funding and capacity development initiatives. At a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signing ceremony held in Lagos, the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Fidelity Bank

Plc, Mrs Nneka Onyeali-Ikpe said the partnership reinforces the fact that the bank is a leading supporter of SMEs in Nigeria. “For us at Fidelity Bank, supporting SMEs is in our DNA and for more than two decades we have been creating multiple platforms to help them thrive. These include the numerous products we have pioneered for the sector, our collaboration with the Lagos Business School to host the Export Management Programme,

the Fidelity SME Academy and our weekly SME Forum radio programme where we have had successful business owners and even SMEDAN share tips on running thriving ventures with listeners, ”she said. On his part, DirectorGeneral/Chief Executive Officer, SMEDAN, Olawale Fasanya thanked Fidelity Bank for facilitating the partnership emphasizing that the MOU was particularly significant not just to the Agency but to the MSMEs ecosystem.

MONEY AND CREDIT STATISTICS

(MILLION NAIRA)

JUNE 2022 Money Supply (M3)

48,865,823.53

-- CBN Bills Held by Money Holding Sectors

167,956.2

Money Supply (M2)

48,797,867.32

-- Quasi Money

28,405,330.1

-- Narrow Money (M1)

20,392,537.22

---- Currency Outside Banks

2,722,785.91

---- Demand Deposits

17,669,751.32

Net Foreign Assets (NFA)

6,242,394.29

Net Domestic Assets(NDA)

42,623,429.24

-- Net Domestic Credit (NDC)

57,267,178.05

---- Credit to Government (Net)

17,996,690.06

---- Memo: Credit to Govt. (Net) less FMA

0.00

---- Memo: Fed. and Mirror Accounts (FMA)

0.00

---- Credit to Private Sector (CPS)

39,270,488

--Other Assets Net

5,566,430

Reserve Money (Base Money

11,320,304

--Currency in Circulation

3,259,269.15

--Banks Reserves --Special Intervention Reserves

11,320,303.72 384,377.56

˾ ÙßÜÍÏ ̋

Money Market Indicators (in Percentage) Month

June 2022

Inter-Bank Call Rate

11.10

Minimum Rediscount Rate (MRR) Monetary Policy Rate (MPR)

13.00

Treasury Bill Rate

2.45

Savings Deposit Rate

1.38

1 Month Deposit Rate

3.48

3 Months Deposit Rate

4.55

6 Months Deposit Rate

4.97

12 Months Deposit Rate

5.30

Prime Lending rate

12.29

Maximum Lending Rate

27.61

˾ ÙØÏÞËÜã ÙÖÓÍã ËÞÏ ̋ ͯͱϱ

OPEC DAILY BASKET PRICE AS AT 27 SEPTEMBER 2022

The price of OPEC basket of thirteen crudes stood at $89.50 a barrel on Monday, compared with $92.67 the previous Friday, according to OPEC Secretariat calculations. The OPEC Reference Basket of Crudes (ORB) is made up of the following: Saharan Blend (Algeria), Girassol (Angola), Djeno (Congo), Zaﬁro (Equatorial Guinea), Rabi Light (Gabon), Iran Heavy (Islamic Republic of Iran), Basrah Medium (Iraq), Kuwait Export (Kuwait), Es Sider (Libya), Bonny Light (Nigeria), Arab Light (Saudi Arabia), Murban (UAE) and Merey (Venezuela).

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 2022 ˾ T H I S D AY

MARKET NEWS

Adeosun: Ardova Shareholders Part of Vision to Drive Expansion, Transformation Kayode Tokede The Chief Executive Officer, Ardova Plc, Olumide Adeosun, yesterday said the company’s shareholders are a major part of its vision to drive business expansion and transformation of the indigenous energy group. Speaking on 2021 performance and AP’s strategy going forward at the company’s 43rd Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Lagos, Adeosun said, “Ardova

continues a journey of growth and economic impact. Our shareholders are a major part of our vision to drive business expansion and transformation. “We have ventured into partnerships in areas of our diversified investments resulting in capital projects that will deliver efficiency for the group. Our revenue growth is an attestation to the efforts and positive decisions made despite bearing economic challenges

P R I C E S MAIN BOARD

F O R DEALS

and we hope to continue to outperform market expectations with solid profit margins”. “Ardova remains focused on a future beyond traditional fuels and taking necessary bold initiatives. By expanding our footprint across the nation through the acquisition of Enyo, we have widened the network of AP’s retail station outlets and shortened our proximity to the end customer, making it easier

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to deliver at widescale retail the cleaner energy products that will materialise from our present capital investments.” The AGM was held in adherence to the guidelines from the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), the AGM was held by proxies that could exercise shareholder voting rights. Also, the proceedings of the AGM was broadcast in real-time for all stakeholders via an online livestream.

T R A D E D MAIN BOARD

A S

Chief Financial Officer/ Executive Director, Finance & Business Support, Ardova Plc, Mr. Moshood Olajide noted, that the increase in the group’s revenue was primarily driven by growth in the fuels business which constituted 86.7per cent. “Lube sales recorded 52 per cent growth resulting in 12.8 per cent of revenue, the transport and logistics business constituting 0.3 per cent, and LPG & Cylinder sales with

O F

0.2per cent of the group revenue. Adeosun stated that Ardova remains committed to delivering shareholder value saying “The capital investments we have carried out in 2021 are primed to make us a fully transformed integrated energy company, where the value we create for customers by being increasingly integrated into their lives, sustainably impacts our balance sheet”.

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WEDNESDAY, ͺ΀˜ ͺ͸ͺͺ ˾ T H I S D AY

NEWS

BUHARI RECEIVES LETTER OF CREDENCE FROM GERMAN AMBASSADOR... President Muhammadu Buhari receives Letter of Credence from Ambassador of Germany to Nigeria, Amb. Annett Gunther, at the Presidential Villa , Abuja ...yesterday

PHOTO: GODWIN OMOIGUI

Buhari: I'm Optimistic Nigeria's Transition Process Will Produce New Crop of Political Leaders in 2023 Says his govt will sustain deep political discourse, freedom of speech Deji Elumoye in Abuja President Muhammadu Buhari has expressed optimism that Nigeria's current political transition period would produce new crop of political leaders after the general elections in the first quarter of 2023. Speaking yesterday, while receiving Letters of Credence from Ambassadors and High Commissioners of six countries at the State House, Abuja, the President declared that as the build up to the 2023 general elections gathers momentum, “I am highly optimistic that we will conduct a good transition process at the end of which a new set of political leaders will freely emerge.’’ He told the envoys that, "you are assuming your diplomatic responsibilities in Nigeria, at very interesting political period as Nigeria’s national elections are due in February 2023. "I want to state again, as I did just a few days ago at the UN General Assembly, that we remain committed to free and fair elections." Buhari assured that participation of citizens in democracy would continue to be encouraged through freedom of speech and robust political discourse, urging respect for divergent cultures and opinions, and upholding the unity of the country. According to him, Nigeria’s strength remains in its diversity, and the constant differences in positions further signpost a strong democratic culture. “As you settle down to your diplomatic responsibilities, you

will realise how diverse Nigeria is. We are not only multi-ethnic and religious but also multi-cultural. “We enjoy unfettered freedom of speech and engage in robust political discourses. Sometimes, the nature of these discourses, tend to give the impression that we are constantly opposed to each other. “The reality is that there is so much that bind us together than the few areas of our divergence. I have no doubts in my mind that you will soon appreciate our uniqueness and indeed resilience as a people, as well as our diversity which constitutes our strength,’’ he said. He urged the diplomats to build on the existing good relations that their predecessors had achieved by being more proactive in engagements. “Today’s occasion, during which you have just presented your Letters of Credence to me, officially marks the formal assumption of your representational duties as Ambassadors/High Commissioners of your respective countries to Nigeria. “You represent some of the most prominent countries on the earth and some of our important trading, political and cultural partners. “The bilateral relationship that exists between each of your countries and the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is warm and very cordial, and the cooperation and collaboration between us in several areas, such as socio-economic, political, security, education and cultural spheres,’’ the President noted. Buhari called for more collectiveness in tackling some of

the challenges faced by nations, noting that the climatic, economic and security concerns could only be solved through shared vision, skills and efforts. “We are living in unprecedented global challenging time. Early in 2020, much of the world was forced to shut down on account of COVID-19. “The catastrophic impact of the pandemic has been across our nations not just in terms of tragic loss of millions of lives, but also massive loss of livelihoods and the resultant economic recession. “Just as we are recovering, the war in Ukraine came to impact

negatively on global economy. Meanwhile, we are faced with the urgency to take collective actions to stop the devastating consequences of climate change that manifest every day in parts of the world. “The various factors that account for these challenges are beyond the capacity of any single country to effectively contain them alone. Hence, the necessity for all of us to work closely together to build consensus in order to overcome them and also minimise tensions and confrontations amongst and between ourselves,’’ he said. Furthermore, Buhari said Nigeria

The Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo has described Nigeria as a nation blessed with sufficient promise and skills. This was just as he advised the citizens to always speak well of the country wherever they may find themselves across the globe. According to a statement yesterday by the Media Assistant to the Vice President, Laolu Akande, Osinbajo said this while playing host to the world-class gymnasts from TIG International Gymnastics Club, Abuja, tutored by Coach

Anthony Asuquo. Speaking after the remarks by the athletes and a video presentation of their participation in the recent championship in South Africa, the vice president expressed delight at the conduct of the gymnasts, their coaches and parents, especially as he was only becoming aware of the abundance of talents in the sport in Nigeria. According to him, “this for me is very heartwarming, intriguing and exciting because there is really great hope for gymnastics in Nigeria, especially people who are starting so very young.

of government, to mention some of the challenges we face,’’ the president stated. While welcoming the Ambassadors and High Commissioners, and their families to Nigeria, Buhari wished them a rewarding tour of duty. Responding on behalf of the diplomats, the Indian High Commissioner to Nigeria, Mr Gangadharan Balasubramanian, assured President Buhari of the full support of their countries, especially as Nigeria counts down to the 2023 elections, adding that they would work with his government, and the leader that emerges after elections.

Nigeria Loses $800m Worth of Oil to Shut-ins, Facilities’ Failures, Others Goldman Sachs cuts oil price forecast

Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja The Nigerian economy continues to bleed from massive oil losses as a result of facilities shut-ins and equipment failures in August, shedding as much as $800 million in revenues that could have accrued to the federation. The latest presentation by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) to the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) indicated that as much as 8.14 million barrels of crude oil were lost during the month

under review. With an estimated average oil price of about $100.45 for the month of August, it is estimated that the country may have lost as much as $800 million to the various leakages during the period. The figure represents an increase compared to the loss in July which was 7.56 million owing mainly to vandalism, workers' strikes, depreciating upstream infrastructure as well as force majeure. In July, the losses came from nine major incidents across the Niger Delta. But it excluded the

Osinbajo: Nigeria's Blessed with Abundant Skills, Urges Citizens to Always Speak Well of Country Deji Elumoye in Abuja

firmly remains committed to multilateralism. “For us in Nigeria, we continue to make steady progress, despite the daunting challenges of insecurity, in the fight against corruption, diversification of the economy, and our efforts in promoting good governance, amongst other things. “At the sub-regional and regional levels, Nigeria has continued to work with other member-states of ECOWAS and other regional blocs, to deal with the problems of terrorism, trans-border crimes, banditry, maritime issues, proliferation of Small Arms and Light Weapons, unconstitutional change

"I am greatly encouraged by what we are seeing, especially that so many of the kids are winning medals and doing well in gymnastics. "I see a lot of the athletics categories and how well people are doing, but I think that we really have some great potential, and just seeing the video, it is evident that there is a lot of promise and talent that is available here in Nigeria.” Acknowledging the abundance of talents in the country, Osinbajo noted that, “what we are seeing here is what Nigeria truly is. Nigeria is a country filled with incredible talents and there are also incredible

opportunities.” While advising coaches, athletes and their parents to be good ambassadors of Nigeria, the Vice President said "I want to encourage you to always think of your country in a positive light and to speak well of your country because nobody will speak well of your country better than you will. “There are many countries that are not in any way near Nigeria, but their citizens speak well of their country. So, it is very important, first of all, that you speak well of your country and that you represent your country well.

ongoing massive oil theft around oil-producing communities. The NNPCL has been unable to contribute a kobo to the federation account since this year, thereby crippling most dollar-related transactions in the Nigerian economy. The scarcity of the greenback has also impacted negatively on the value of the naira, with the local currency falling to as low as N700 in the last few months. The report stated that Forcados terminal lost about 667,500 barrels of oil, hindering export operations between July 17 and August 5, following reports of a sheen in the vicinity of the asset. This led the Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) to request that all injectors be halted. At the Qua Iboe terminal, the report noted that a warning strike declared by the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) resulting in a crude loss of 1.47 million. According to the NNPCL, the warning strike which lasted seven days, was due to the divestment of assets by Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited (MPNU) without notification. Bonny terminal also took a massive hit, recording a loss of 3.5 million barrels of oil loss throughout the month and dropping significantly to an average of about 3mbd since the 21st of march 2022 till date.

This forced the terminal operator to declare force majeure on all outstanding bonny programmes, the national oil company stated. At the Bonga terminal, the facility recorded a production loss of 658,085 barrels of oil due to repair works which required that the Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) facility be kept at the 16-metre draft to facilitate the process. Also at the Yoho terminal, 329,000 barrels of oil production loss was recorded from July 1 to 31 as it encountered a shutdown to curtail flaring, while Erha terminal shed 937,663 barrels of oil from July 1 to 15 due to a plant trip. The oil losses continued in Brass terminal, which was shut down following low crude oil receipt as a result of theft activities and illegal connections, consequently leading to the loss of 315,000 barrels of oil. The story was the same in Ukpokiti terminal as it was shutin due to a fire outbreak which affected oil exports , with a loss of 210,000 barrels of crude as well as the Aje terminal which was shut down making it lose 11,000 barrels. Nigeria, Africa’s largest oil producer and a member of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has tried to stamp out sabotage on its pipeline network in recent years without much success. Continues online

WEDNESDAY, ͺ΀˜ ͺ͸ͺͺ ˾ T H I S D AY

NEWS

COURTESY VISIT TO THE VILLA... Chairman, National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Brig. Gen. Mohammed Buba Marwa (left) and President Muhammadu Buhari, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja...yesterday

PHOTO: GODWIN OMOIGUI

Atiku: My Govt Will Restructure Nigeria, Quell Separatists' Agitations Says anyone who wants to solve nation’s economic crisis must carry south east along Gideon Arinze in Enugu Former Vice-President and Presidential Candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Atiku Abubakar, has said part of what his government would do if elected into power was to restructure Nigeria and quell separatist agitations, particularly, in the Southeast. Atiku also said Nigeria was in very bad shape and that rescuing it required proper preparations and attention to detail, not just in terms of general issues affecting the whole country but also issues specific to each zone and the states therein. The PDP candidate, who spoke yesterday in Enugu State, when he met with party stakeholders in the Southeast, together with his running mate and Delta State Governor,

Ifeanyi Okowa, in furtherance of Atiku’s consultations, preparatory to the commencement of campaigns for the 2023 presidential election, however, said any government that planned to solve Nigeria’s. economic crisis must carry the South East along. He said the country was more divided today than it has ever been and that part of his responsibility if elected as president would be to reunify through equity justice and fairness. According to him, restructuring that devolves powers from the federal government and gives states the power to set their priorities is better for this zone than what the country currently has and has had since the late 1960s. “Since the late 1960s, Nigeria has had a faulty federal structure

that concentrates too much power and resources at the Centre, thereby turning the federating states into appendages or parastatals of the federal government,” he said. He maintained that his government would work with the legislatures to restructure the federal system and devolve more powers to the states with corresponding resources. “That way, states will be better able to set their own development priorities while the federal government focuses on setting and maintaining standards,” he said, adding that a federal system that did not encourage the federating units to compete among themselves in order to be better was a faulty one. He explained that restructuring would help tackle the feeling of

Senate: Electoral Offences Bill Ready for 2023 General Election Panel screens 19 REC

Sunday Aborisade in Abuja

The Senate Committee on Electoral Matters, yesterday, assured Nigerians that the Electoral Offences Bill would be ready for the 2023 general election. Chairman of the Committee, Senator Kabiru Gaya, who stated this during the screening exercise of some Residents Electoral Commission (REC) of the INEC, however, screened the 19 nominees presented for confirmation by President Muhammadu Buhari. While some were reappointment, fourteen were for new appointment. But petitions were submitted against the nomination of Muhammad Lawal Bashir, Pauline Onyeka, Ugoch Elizabeth and Dr Oliver Teroso. Gaya assured them that the committee was working round the clock to ensure that the electoral body conducts credible exercise in the 2023 as the committee has already forwarded the Electoral Offences Bill to Technical Committee in the House of Representatives. "The National Assembly is unwavering in making sure that the Independent National Electoral

Commission succeeds in its assignment. It will interest you to know that the National Electoral Offences Bill is presently being worked on by a technical Committee in the House of Representatives. “The legislative intent is to ensure that INEC concentrates on the administration of elections, while electoral offenders are brought to book to deter others and build a positive electoral culture for our nation," he said. Gaya said the preparation for the 2023 elections was in top gear, adding that it was an opportunity to prepare Nigerians for social, political and economic elevation. The nominees for renewal were Ibrahim Abdullahi (Adamawa), Obo Effanga (Cross River),Umar Ibrahim (Taraba),Agboke Olaleke (Ogun), and Samuel Egwu (Kogi). Those for fresh appointments were Onyeka Ugochi (Imo), Muhammad Bashir (Sokoto), Ayobami Salami, a professor (Oyo), Zango Abdu (Katsina), and Queen Agwu (Ebonyi). Others were Agundu Tersoo (Benue), Yomere Oritsemlebi (Delta), Yahaya Ibrahim, a professor (Kaduna), Nura Ali (Kano),

Agu Uchenna (Enugu), Ahmed Garki (FCT), Hudu Yunusa (Bauchi), Uzochukwu Chijioke, a professor (Anambra), and Mohammed Nura (Yobe).

marginalisation, which is providing an excuse for the separatist agitations in this zone and that national unity would benefit the people of this zone, who needed a wider platform to operate on. While noting that the Southeast had supported him through thick and thin and would always remember that, he said the region has produced sons and daughters, who had played very positive roles in the development of the country. “The region remains a key contributor to economic activities in this country and a government that wants to revive our economy and provide opportunities for our people must carry the Southeast along, “he said. He, however, regretted that insecurity now pervades the Southeast as much as other zones, a situation which according to him, was negatively impacting the economy of the zone and the livelihoods of its people, which were being destroyed by the Monday sit-at-home. He explained that his five priorities, which included reunifying the country, improving security, fixing the economy; restructuring the federation and improving human capital development, would have the most impact on all other aspects of development and the quality of life as citizens and as a country.

“To move in one direction to develop our country and improve our people’s lives will require giving every segment of this country a sense of belonging, not just by meeting constitutional requirements on federal character but through government policies, programmes and projects, and our body language and utterances as leaders, “he said. In his address, Okowa lamented that Nigeria had never been disunited as it is under the APC leadership, adding that the only solution to the current problems confronting the nation would be for Nigerians to give the PDP and its candidate an opportunity to serve. He lauded the Enugu State Governor, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, for providing true leadership and mobilising party members to attend the event, stressing that, “PDP is Southeast and Southeast is PDP.” Earlier, Ugwuanyi, who was the leader of the PDP in the Southeast and candidate of the party for Enugu North Senatorial District, assured Atiku that the state was essentially a PDP state. Atiku and Okowa were well received in Enugu by Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, Abia State deputy governor; Ude Oko Chukwu, former Imo State governor, Emeka Ihedioha; the Board of Trustee Chairman, Adolphus Wabara; Acting National Chairman of the PDP, Amb. Umar

Damagum; the National Secretary of the party, Senator Sam Anyanwu; the Acting Chairman, former Presidents of the Senate, Senator Anyim Pius Anyim and Dr Bukola Saraki. Others were members of the BOT of the party, including Senator Dr Jim Ifeanyichukwu Nwobodo, Dr Okwesileze Nwodo, Senator Ben Obi and Amb. Mrs Justina Eze; the National Vice Chairman (Southeast zone), Chief Dr Ali Odefa; the PDP governorship candidates in Enugu, Abia, and Ebonyi States, Peter Ndubuisi Mbah, Prof. Uche Ikonne and Mr Ifeanyi Odii respectively, the party's deputy governorship candidates, the PDP National Vice Chairman, Southeast zone, Chief Odefa, Senator Ben Obi and Senator Dino Melaye. Also on the ground to receive the PDP candidate were serving and former principal officers of the National Assembly; serving and former members of the National Assembly; serving and former members of the National Working Committee of the party; former ministers of the Federal Republic of Nigeria; Speakers of the state Houses of Assembly; Senatorial and House of Representatives candidates of the party; serving and former state chairmen and secretaries of the party; state youth leaders, women leaders, publicity secretaries of the party and LGA chairmen among others.

Wike Finally Recovers Legacy Aircraft to Rivers Blessing Ibunge in Port Harcourt Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State has finally received the state’s Legacy 600 aircraft after years of its abandonment in Germany by the past administration. Receiving the aircraft yesterday at the Port Harcourt International Airport, Omagwa in Ikwerre Local Government Area of the State, Wike said the recovery and eventual return of the asset of the state was reality and not mere politics. He explained that it took intelligence report for his administration to discover such asset owned by the Rivers State government. According to him, the immediate past administration flew the aircraft to Germany, without any record of it made available to his administration.

"To the glory of God, the plane is back and Rivers people can see, Nigerians can see, it is not that we are playing politics. All we are saying, we never knew, nobody told us until we got intelligence that we have this asset somewhere." He recalled that the Legacy 600 Aircraft was purchased by the Dr. Peter Odili's led administration to serve the interest of Rivers people, but was abandoned with the General Atomics Aerotec in Munich, Germany by the Chibuike Rotimi Ameachi's administration since 2012. "What is very important to all of us here today is that when we came into power in 2015, nobody handed over any report or gave us handover note to let us know where such asset of the state was, only for us to hear in 2019, that

this asset is somewhere," he added. Wike noted that because air transportation was a more technical area, great care was taken to put the Legacy 600 Aircraft into its best form to undertake air travel effectively. The governor also stated that so much money was expended by the state government on the aircraft, “money that would have put into other development projects,” if his administration had known of it quite early. According to him, in fixing the aircraft, certificate of air worthiness certificate issued by the Nigerian government, was secured for its to return to Nigeria. "Of course, we did everything we could do and we told Nigerians that the grace of God we will not allow this asset to go that way. We

must return it for the people of the state to decide what they are going to do with it. "I am so elated that at the end of the day, all of our struggles are not in vain. I thank Rivers people for the support. I thank the Rivers State House of Assembly for the support. I thank the Executive for the support. "But for their support, it would not have been possible to spend the money we spent. If you hear the money we spent, it's money that would have been put in other development projects if we were told on time of it," he said. The Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Ikuinyi-Owaji Ibani, expressed delight that after 10 years the Rivers State government successfully recovered the aircraft.

WEDNESDAY, ͺ΀˜ ͺ͸ͺͺ ˾ T H I S D AY

NEWS

LAGOS TAKES DELIVERY OF TRAINS FOR RED LINE RAIL SYSTEM... Images of the TALGO SERIES 8 Trains acquired for the Red Line

INEC: Starting with 2023, We’ll Leave Legacy of Transparent Electoral Process Says commission constitutionally empowered to review returns Boasts power to suspend an election within 21 days Chuks Okocha in Abuja The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), yesterday, vowed that it would leave a legacy of transparent election in the country, using the 2023 general election as its launch pad. Also, to avoid a situation, where politicians hold INEC staff at a gun point to declare false election result, the commission said it has been empowered by the new electoral law to review any election returned by any of its staff. In the 2019 election, a former governor of Imo State, Senator Rochas Okorocha, allegedly forced some INEC staff at gun point, to declare him winner of the election. INEC National Commissioner in charge of Information and chairman of Voter Education, Festus Okoye, who spoke at the closing ceremony of a two day workshop for journalist covering the commission, said INEC has the capacity to suspend any ongoing election within 21 days.

He said, "The aim of this workshop is to ensure that there is adequate preparation for the next general election. We want to carry the media along in this journey to a transparent legacy of free and fair election, which every Nigeria will hold his or her head up with the outcome of the next year general election. "Like what took place in Osun State, every Nigerian – whether home or in the Diaspora – will be proud of the transparent nature of the election," Okoye stated. Okoye, who presented a document on how to ensure that no staff of the commission – permanent or temporary – was forced at gunpoint to declare election results, said, "Section 65 of the Act gives the Commission the power within seven days to review a declaration and return made where the Commission determines that the said declaration and return was not made voluntarily or was made contrary to the provisions of the law, regulations and guidelines, and manual for the election. "The Commission will exercise

this power responsibly based on the provisions of the Constitution, the Electoral Act and its Regulations and Guidelines. It is inconceivable that Collation/ Returning Officers of the Commission should act independent of the appointing authority. “Fortunately, section 27(2) of the Act, has made it mandatory that officers appointed by the Commission for the purpose of an election shall perform such functions and discharge such duties as may be specified by the Commission and shall not be subject to the direction or control of any person or authority than the Commission in the

James Sowole in Abeokuta A Federal High Court sitting in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, yesterday, nullified the Governorship Primary conducted by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state.

Inaugurates air warfare center The Chief of Air Staff (CAS), Air Marshal Oladayo Amao, yesterday, said successes so far recorded in the theatres of operation across the country depicted the dynamism of air power deployment in the fight against insurgency and banditry. Speaking at the commissioning of the Nigerian Air Force (NAF), Air Warfare Centre, where he inaugurated its first course on basic air power for young officers, Amao also noted that air power had become a key determinant of operational effectiveness as well as a force multiplier in all ongoing operations in the country. He said the reactivation of the

Air Warfare Centre was in tandem with his vision for the Nigerian Air Force, with emphasis on “enhancing and sustaining critical air power capabilities required for joint force employment in pursuit of national security imperatives”, just as it aligned with two key drivers of his vision which “focus on doctrinal development and application of air power in joint military operations and pursuit of purposeful training and human capacity development.” On the mandate of the centre, Amao affirmed that it must support the airman across the spectrum of air warfare requirements ranging from training and operational readiness to doctrinal and tactics

has 14 days to conduct fresh primaries, provided that in the case of presidential or gubernatorial or Federal Capital Territory Area Council Chairmanship elections, the running mate shall continue with the election and nominate a new running mate. "Section 41(3)&(4) of the Act provides that Polling agents shall be entitled to be present at the distribution of the election materials, electronic voting machine and voting devices from the office to the polling booth. Polling agents, who attend a polling unit, may be entitled, before the commencement of the election, to have originals of

electoral materials to be used by the Commission for the election inspected, and this process may be recorded as evidence in writing, or video or by other means by any polling Agent, accredited observer or official of the Commission. "Section 73 of the Act renders invalid any election conducted at a polling unit without the prior recording in the forms prescribed by the Commission of the quantity, serial numbers and other particulars of result sheets, ballot papers and other sensitive electoral materials made available by the Commission for the conduct of the election," he stated.

Court Nulliﬁes Ogun PDP Governorship Primary Election

Amao: Air Power Deployment Responsible for Success in Fight against Insurgency, Banditry Kingsley Nwezeh in Abuja

performance of their functions and discharge of their duties. "The Commission will design clear guidelines on exercising these powers and will rely on reports from its officers before activating its powers under the law. " On the issue of transparency and managing unforeseen challenges, he said, "Section 34 of the Act gives the Commission the power to suspend an election for a period of not more than 21 days; in the case of election into a Legislative House and start afresh. "If the candidate dies, the party sponsoring the deceased candidate

development. Such support, he noted, will enhance effectiveness by giving impetus to service-wide efforts that will translate existing materiel and human capacity into actual capabilities to fulfil air power tasks demanded by national defence and security imperatives. The CAS charged the pioneer Commandant of the Centre, Air Vice Marshal Micheal Onyebashi and staff to ensure that the new institution maintained high standards while ensuring that it evolved new and dynamic approaches for NAF employment of air power. Continues online

Justice O.O Oguntoyinbo, in his judgement, ordered the party to conduct another primary election within the next 14 days. The court also barred the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from recognising Hon. Ladi Adebutu as the governorship candidate of the party in the state. The party had on May 25 conducted the primary election, which produced Adebutu as the governorship candidate of the party. Not satisfied with the primary, three members of the party, Taiwo Olabode Idris, Kehinde Akala and Alhaji Ayinde Monsuri, dragged the party, Ladi Adebutu and INEC to court, challenging the authenticity of the delegates' lists used for the conduct of the primary. The plaintiffs contended that, the persons on delegates' list used by electoral panel for the primaries were not democratically elected at the ward, local government and state congresses, hence, the panel "cannot unilaterally or arbitrarily impose" the list on the party for the primaries. The plaintiffs, in their originating summons, prayed the court among others to nullify or set aside the state congress/indirect primary election, held by the 1st defendant (PDP) on 25th of May, 2022 "for the purpose of choosing the candidate,

which the 1st Defendant intends to nominate/sponsor at the 2023 governorship election in Ogun State, based on the list of delegates, who were not democratically elected at the ward congress." They also sought an order directing the 2nd Defendant (INEC) "to disregard and/or refrain from giving effect to the results of the alleged 1st Defendant’s indirect primary election held on the 25th of May, 2022 based on the list of ad-hoc delegates who were not elected at the ward congresses constituted by the 1st Defendant for that purpose." Reacting to the judgement, counsel to the plaintiffs, Thaddeus Idenyi said, the court nullified the election "because it was conducted using a list of adhoc delegates, who

were not elected. The implication of the judgement is obvious, the PDP will have to put their acts together and then conduct a fresh primary as ordered by the court. "This time around, the court was specific that they have to use the list that had been certified by INEC, because after the primary, those lists were submitted to INEC as parts of its report of covering those ward congresses held, so the court has now said it is the list, which must be considered in the conduct of the fresh primaries, so the PDP had to just put their house together and use those lists to conduct a fresh primary." Publicity Secretary of PDP in the state, Akinloye Bankole, said, the party would study the judgement before any action is taken.

CORRIGENDUM In our report on page 27 of yesterday’s edition, we erroneously headlined a news story on what the National Commissioner in charge of Voter Education and Information, Festus Okoye, said at a meeting with the European Union Support to Democratic Governments in Nigeria: INEC: In 2023, Clear Winner Must Score Highest Votes in Poll, One-third of votes in Two-thirds of 36 States. That headline was wrong. It should have read: INEC: In 2023, Clear Winners Must Score Highest Votes in Poll, 25 percent of Votes in Two-thirds of 36 States. The mix-up is highly regretted. –Editor

WEDNESDAY, ͺ΀˜ ͺ͸ͺͺ ˾ T H I S D AY

NEWS

NEXT TITAN SEASON 9 PREMIERE... L-R: Chief Commercial Officer, Tingo Mobile Plc, Mr.Ayoola Olaide; Group Executive Director,Human Resources and Corporate Services, IPNX Nigeria Ltd, Mrs.Folashade Effiong- Bassey; Executive Producer, Next Titan Nigeria, Mr. Mide Akinlaja; Acting Group Head, Corporate Communications, Heritage Bank, Mrs. Ozena Utulu; and Chief Operating Officer, Tingo Mobile Plc, Mr.Alao Ayoade, at the PHOTO: ETOP UKUTT Next Titan Season 9 premiere evening tagged " Game Changer" held in Lagos…recently

How Tinubu Threw APC Presidential Campaign Council Into Crisis Sets stage when he overruled governors Removes president, stakeholders’ nominees Displeased Lalong threatens to resign Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja There are strong indications that the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu, might have sown the seed of the new crisis in his Presidential Campaign Council (PCC) by deliberate machination, after he allegedly overrode President Muhammadu Buhari, his party leadership and the progressive governors, in the composition of the council.

THISDAY gathered that the council, though a tripartite institution, structured around the presidential candidate, the party and the president, was originally designed to be driven by the governors, since they were expected to lead the campaigns in their respective states. Thus, according to sources, Tinubu, the party and the progressive governors, had perfected the composition of an inclusive campaign council, before it was

agreed amongst them that the list should be taken to the president for his input (if there’s any) as a mark of respect, an idea Buhari was said to have not only welcomed, but also did as expected of him by making a few inputs. Unfortunately, a few days after the president had made his input, Tinubu, without recourse to any of the other parties, including Buhari, single-handedly reviewed the list, particularly, tampering with some critical areas that the president

and the governors, had indicated interests and agreed with him. For example, when the list was allegedly taken to Buhari, aside signing off on it, he was said to have indicated interest in Mrs. Margaret Okadigbo, wife of a former Senate President, whom he wanted as the regional coordinator for the South East, apparently deferring to his late friend and former running mate, Senator Chuba Okadigbo, while at the same time, factoring the interest

Edo: Obaseki Wins as Court Orders INEC to Publish Names of Candidates in Gov’s Faction Adibe Emenyonu in Benin City

A Federal High Court sitting in Benin, has ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to recognise and publish the names of candidates produced by the Governor Godwin Obaseki faction of the Edo Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as standard-bearers of the party in the forthcoming 2023 elections. The is the second ruling coming from the same federal high court. The first came in May, when a Federal High Court in Abuja, presided by Justice Inyang

Ekpo, gave a similar order to INEC to recognise the candidates of Chief Dan Orbih’s faction of the party in Edo. However, in a judgement delivered yesterday by Justice S.M Shuaibu, the Court granted all the reliefs sought by the plaintiffs. The plaintiffs included the party’s candidate for Edo South Senatorial District, Matthew Iduoriyekemwen, Sunny Aguebor for Oredo Federal Constituency, and the standard bearer for Akoko Edo Federal Constituency, Kabiru Adjoto, among others. Amongst the reliefs sought by the plaintiffs was an order

of court mandating the fourth defendant, INEC, to publish the names of the plaintiffs as the validly elected candidates of the Edo PDP for the 2023 general election. The judge noted that based on past decisions by the Supreme Court and Court of Appeal, the state chapter of a political party was not empowered by law to conduct party primaries and that only the National Working Committee (NWC) of a political party has the power to conduct party primaries. According to him, “There is nothing before the Honourable

Court to show that the primaries in which the 4th to 39th defendants participated was conducted by the National Working Committee of the PDP. Rather, their primaries were conducted by the Edo State chapter of the PDP. “In my view, the power of INEC under Section 84 of the Electoral Act is limited to monitoring of party primary elections and does not extend to preparing or declaring the results of that election. This remains the law. In the light of the foregoing, the fourth defendant, INEC, cannot rely on results prepared by the first defendant, Edo PDP.”

Afenifere Chieftain, Falae, Distances Self from Obi's Endorsement Fidelis David in Akure

Former Secretary to the Government of the Federation and Chieftain of the Yoruba socio-political organisation, Afenifere, yesterday, distanced himself from backing the presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Peter Obi, for the 2023 elections. Afenifere’s acting leader, Ayo Adebanjo, Monday, justified its decision to back Obi, saying the group would not compromise the principle of justice, equity and inclusiveness just because the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, is Yoruba. Reacting through a statement

titled: "Falae's Position on Presidential Poll", in Akure, Ondo State, by his Personal Assistant, Capt Moshood RAJI (rtd), the elder statesman said it was necessary to await the programmes and manifestos of the political parties and their candidates before arriving at a particular candidate to support. The former Minister of Finance said, "The attention of Chief Olu Falae has just been drawn to a publication that has gone viral in which the former Secretary to the Federal government is quoted as saying that he is supporting the candidature of Mr Peter Obi as his preferred choice in the 2023 Presidential race. "Although, Chief Falae admit-

ted that he said it was true that the South East had not had the opportunity of being Nigeria's President, it's for them to persuade other Nigerians that they can offer something better than candidates from other geopolitical zones. It's not an automatic slot that can be filled without other important considerations. Chief Falae never canvassed or claimed to be supporting Mr Peter Obi of the Labour Party for the 2023 race," he stressed. The one time Managing Director of the Nigerian Merchant Bank, noted that as a responsible leader, he would consider all important parameters, including capacity, experience and proven track record before endorsing a candidate.

"This correction is necessary in order not to mislead the public that Chief Falae is supporting any of the candidates yet. It is necessary to await the programmes and manifestos of the political parties and their candidates before arriving at a particular candidate to support," the former presidential candidate of the Alliance for Democracy in the 1999 presidential election added. Meanwhile, Falae's position came hours after spokesperson of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council, Festus Keyamo, slammed Ayo Adebanjo for taking a position on Obi, accusing Adebanjo of promoting his agenda as the position of the pan-Yoruba group.

of the South East into the council. But Tinubu, although had earlier consented to the council’s composition before it was taken to the president, yanked off Mrs. Okadigbo’s name and in her place, put the sole female presidential aspirant of the party, Uju Ken Ohanenye, who stood down for him at the presidential primary in Abuja. This, expectedly, raised concerns amongst other stakeholders. Again, in the South West, the governors were said to have considered the Ekiti State Governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, as the PCC coordinator for the zone, but Tinubu opposed his choice and in his place, would rather the Ondo State Governor, Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, SAN. However, sensing what was playing out, sources, said Fayemi had immediately stepped in, saying since Akeredolu was the Chairman of the South West APC governors, he was a better choice and quietly acceded to the choice of the presidential aspirant without making a fuss of it. But there was a particular one that eventually undid the campaign council and it was the choice of Hon. James Faleke, a member of the House of Representatives, from Ikeja in Lagos State, as Secretary of the campaign council. The position of secretary of the council, sources told THISDAY, was reserved for the North Central, as part of moves to pacify the minority north. But because the Director-General of the PCC, Governor Simon Lalong, was from Plateau State, it was agreed that the secretary should be taken to Benue State, being a critical state in the middle belt. Besides, with the controversy so far generated by the MuslimMuslim preference of the presidential candidate, stakeholders believed picking a Christian from Benue State, would go a long way to quell the staggering opposition to the same faith ticket of the party. Consequently, one of the governors from the North Central states, was allegedly detailed to reach out to a former governor of Benue State, Senator George Akume, to send in two names and their Curriculum Vitae, for

Tinubu’s consideration for the position, which he allegedly did. But Tinubu, again, allegedly turned down the two names from Benue and claimed since Kogi was part of North Central, he would rather Faleke, a man representing Lagos State in the lower chamber of the National Assembly, and without seeking the consent of other stakeholders, listed him as the secretary of the PCC. These developments, THISDAY gathered, had angered Lalong, to the extent that he threatened to quit as DG of the PCC, but for the interventions of some people in the party, including a former deputy governor of Nasarawa State and other stakeholders, who appealed to him, not to throw the party into crisis by making such move at this time. Added to these, Tinubu has been accused variously by members of allegedly appointing a handful of persons, either as directors or assistant directors to different places in the council, without consulting other stakeholders, a move many believed was intentional to create some form of control at the campaign secretariat, especially, with Faleke’s choice as the secretary. While the president has refused to speak on the matter, other stakeholders, were said to have resolved to allow Tinubu make and take his decisions as the presidential candidate, since the input of the others did not matter to him or the cause they collectively sought. Besides, a lot of the big names that were absent in the council to the shock of many people, THISDAY was reliably informed, was deliberate as those people claimed they would be unable to defend a Muslim-Muslim ticket. Even more disturbing for the prospect of the campaign is that a majority of northern governors seem inconsolable over the way and manner Tinubu had managed things since he emerged the candidate, especially, with the allegations that a former chairman of the party, Adams Oshiomhole and Faleke, were being used to project a southern agenda, undermine Lalong, and by extension, the governors as a body.

WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 28, 2022 ˾ T H I S D AY

NEWS

WELL DESERVED RECOGNITION……

L-R: Executive Director, Corporate Strategy,Training and Research, Chartered Institute of Public Resources Management and Politics (CIPRMP), Ghana, Dr. Ani Freeman;Executive Director, Correspondence and Administration, CIPRMP, Nigeria, Mrs. Victoria Sadiq; Chief Executive Officer, Akmodel HomesandPropertiesLimited,Dr.AbdulhakeemOdegade,and ExecutiveDirector,WestAfricaRegion,CIPRMP,Ghana,Dr.RicharchsKpoku-Aguarte,attheinvestitureof OdegadeastheMostDistinguishedFellow2021/20221HallofFameoftheCIPRMPinLagos…recently ETOPUKUTT

Lawmakers Abruptly Adjourn Plenary over Power Outage

Udora Orizu in Abuja

Members of the House of Representatives yesterday abruptly adjourned plenary following power outage as

the session was ongoing. The Speaker, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, who presided over the plenary session, was trying to give a ruling on item 6 on the order paper which is

Three Children Burnt to Death in Rivers Blessing Ibunge inPort Harcourt

Three children have reportedly burnt to death in a fire incident that occurred at Rumuchakara village, Choba, in Obio/Akpor Local Government Area of Rivers State. THISDAY gathered that the incident happened Monday night at the said area while the family was in their sleep. It was learned that the fire incident affected three buildings in the area, with lock up shops worth millions of naira. A source, who spoke to THISDAY from the area, claimed that the fire was caused by candle light which was mistakenly left on while the victims have gone to bed. The source said the three of the children that lost their lives in the fire were of the same parents. He said the victims, who were primary school children, had used candle to do their assignments, but slept off without putting out the burning candle. He revealed that two other children from the same parent are in the hospital receiving from the fire injury. “There was a fire incident

at Rumuchakara area of Choba. Three children burnt to death. Two died in the room, while the third one died at the hospital where he was rushed to. “They were in the same house with their parents, but it is a two bedroom apartment. Their parents were in their own room. Before they realized what was happening, the fire had taken over the building. “The incident was caused by candle light. Two of the siblings of the victims have been rushed to the hospital and I pray they survive”. Meanwhile, father of the victims, Mr. Solomon have lamented the loss of his children and one of his niece in the fire incident. In his tears Solomon said: “I heard my wife shouting fire fire, I tried to rescue my children, no way. I was able to rescue three, then lost three in the fire incident. “I slept around past 8pm and the incident happened before 10pm. I don’t know what caused the fire. I feel like dying with them. The third child who died in the fire was my niece who just resumed a new academic session.

Anyaoku Dissociates Self from Atiku’s Book Presentation

Former Commonwealth Secretary-General, Chief Emeke Anyaoku, has disociated himself from the planned public book presentation of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, scheduled for September 28 (today) in Abuja. A statement signed by Anyaoku, said: “ My attention has been drawn to the announcement in THISDAY Newspaper of 26/9/22 that I would be a Special Guest of Honour at Atiku Abubakar’s book presentation scheduled for 28”” September in Abuja. “Given the understandable propensity to read political

meanings in public associations at this time of competition by political parties in the context of 2023 national elections, I wish to unequivocally state that nobody sought and obtained my agreement to be present at this particular book presentation.” He also stated that he has accepted the unreserved apologies rendered to him by the organisers of the event. “I wish to reiterate that he remains non-partisan in praying that my country Nigeria will in 2023 elect people of proven competence and character whose sole mission will be to serve the national interests,” he said.

a Bill to amend the Evidence Act, when the light went off. As darkness filled the chambers, Gbajabiamila quickly put the Bill to a voice vote and suggested that the House adjourn to Wednesday as they cannot carry out their legislative duties without electricity. Some items remaining in the order paper which were not attended to include: “A Bill for An Act to Repeal the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board Act, Laws of the

Federation of Nigeria 2004; and for Related Matters. (HB. 1944) (Hon. Zakaria Dauda Nyampa), Bill for an Act to Amend the National Youth Service Corps Act, Cap. N84 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004 to Review Upward the Accommodation and Transport Allowances of Corps Members in line with Current realities; and for Related Matters (HB.716, 1305, 1657, 1922, 1945 and 1674) (Hon. Eta Mbora, Hon. Abass Adigun, Hon. Ben

Rolland Igbakapa, Hon. Kayode Moshood Akinolu and Hon. Oluyemi Adewale Taiwo). Others are, “Bill for an Act to Amend the National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency Act; and for Related Matters (HBs. 622, 1123 & 2055) (Hon. Abbas Tajudeen, Hon. Abubakar Yahya Kusada); and Hon. Samson Okwu), and Bill for an Act to Amend the Minerals and Mining Act, Cap. M12, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004

to encourage further Domestic and Foreign Investments in the Solid Mineral Subsector; and for Related Matters (HB.2033) (Hon. Chisom Promise Dike), all listed for second reading. Also motions on “Need to Address the Effect of Rain Disaster in Baruten Local Government Area of Kwara State and Need to Curb the Incessant and unruly Behaviour of Touts Operating on Major Highways in Nigeria, were not deliberated on.

ICPC Tasks Monarchs, Others to Promote Ethical Values, Behavioural Change Fidelis David in Akure The Chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practice and other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), Prof Bolaji Owasanoye (SAN) yesterday charged traditional rulers, religious leaders and communitybased Civil Society Groups to deepen their partnership with ICPC in diminishing corruption and promoting ethics values and behaviour change and building

a better Nigeria for all. The ICPC boss stated this at a one-day sensitisation dialogue with traditional rulers, religious leaders and civil society organisations on the national ethics and integrity policy, constituency and executive tracking initiative for positive behavioural change, held in Akure the Ondo State capital. Prof Owasanoye said as character moulders and champions of integrity and

national development, traditional rulers, religious leaders and community based civil society organisations, all play crucial roles in the development of various communities, hence the need to seek their cooperation. Owasanoye, represented by a board member of the commission, AIG Olugbenga Adeyanju (rtd) said: “The design and implementation of the National Ethics and Integrity Policy (NEIP) identifies

and recognises you as critical stakeholders if the promotion of the policy is to be successful. As traditional rulers, you are royal fathers, custodians of traditional norms and values that project your communities and people as responsible people. As religious leaders, you our Pastors and Imams are not only spiritual guides but also moral compasses by which we measure the positive growth or otherwise of the society.

Guild of Editors Urges Govt to Expand Democratic Space Uvende Ohwovoriole in Abauja As the world marks the International Day for Universal Access to Information, the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE) has urged governments, at all levels, to expand the nation’s democratic space by guaranteeing the right to access public information in line with the Freedom of Information Act and

other international instruments. The professional group of all the editors in Nigeria noted that the International Day for Universal Access to Information was proclaimed on October 15 2019 at the 74th UN General Assembly to be held on September 28. In a press statement signed by the NGE President, Mustpha Isah and the General Sceretary, Iyobosa

Uwugiaren, yesterday, the NGE said that the right to access public information is an indispensable element of a democratic space, which enables citizens to hold their elected representatives accountable for the decisions they make and the ways in which they spend public fund. The editors expressed concern that 12 years after former President Goodluck

Jonathan signed the Freedom of Information Act, which empowers citizens to obtain information held by public bodies, with limited exceptions, and encompasses a right to request and receive information, as well as an obligation for governments to publish information proactively, the federal government agencies and ministries have continued to deny citizens access to information.

Court Nullifies Aliero’s, ex-Senate Leader’s PDP Senatorial Tickets Ismail Adebayo in Birmin Kebbi

A Federal High Court in Birnin kebbi, yesterday nullified the election of Senator Adamu Aliero as the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP)’s candidate for Kebbi Central Senatorial District in the forthcoming general elections. The court ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission

(INEC) to substitute Aliero’s name with Haruna Saidu as the substantive PDP’s candidate for the senatorial district poll in 2023 elections. Justice Babagana G. Ashigar, who delivered the judgment, said Aliero was not validly elected in line with the provisions of the Electoral Act 2022. According to him, the court

nullified the election following the primary election conducted in the state by PDP in May which was marred by irregularities. He also held that the PDP did not give fair hearing to Haruna Saidu following a petition on allegation of forged signatures. The court held that he was not served with a copy of the petition brought against him.

The judge said INEC unlawfully excluded the plaintiff’s name (Saidu) from the primary participated by Aliero when he had won the first primary. The judge therefore, declared that the primary that produced Aliero was a nullity. The judgment followed an application by Haruna Saidu against Senator Aliero, PDP and INEC

Reject APC, PDP, Vote in Obi’s LP in 2023 Election, Says Delta Group Sylvester Idowu inWarri

A pressure group in Delta State, Delta Intellectuals Forum (DIF) has called on Nigerians to reject the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and All Progressives Congress (APC) and vote for a credible candidate that can rescue the nation from the present hardship

and pandemic situation. The forum, however, maintained that the Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate, Mr. Peter Obi, is the only panacea the country needs to rescue her from the deepening quagmire presently tearing the nation apart. Director-General of the forum Dr. (Mrs) Felicia Onojeguo made

the call yesterday during the inauguration of the body at Ughelli in Ughelli South Local Government area of the state. She told the gathering that both APC and PDP have failed Nigerians, especially the former, that threw the nation into famine, insecurity, wanton killings and all forms of vices that could not be

redeemed till date. “Among the predominant candidate is Peter Obi who no doubt has the interest of the suffering masses at heart. We should rally round the two-time Governor of Anambra state and a man with unquestionable pedigree to move the nation forward from the present woes,” she said.

WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 28, 2022 ˾ T H I S D AY

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CROWN FLOUR TRAINS THE BAKERS…

L-R: President, International Cake Exploration Société (ICES), Omolara Ikpen; Lagos State Commissioner forWomen Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Mrs. Cecilia Bolaji Dada; Beneficiary and Grandaunt, Ms. Samuel Oluwaseun Oluwatosin, and Country Head, Olam Agri Nigeria, Mr. Ashish Pande, at the presentation of certificates to the successful trainees of Crown Flour Angels’ Free BakingTraining in Lagos …recently

US Trains Nigeria’s Security Services on Investigation of Chemical, Biological Weapons Adedayo AkinwaleinAbuja The United States government, has trained some Nigeria security services, law enforcement, and first responders on how to investigate terrorist plots involving chemical and biological weapons (CBW). The US embassy, in a statement

yesterday, said it was part of a series of trainings the Department of State was sponsoring across Africa, noting that recent events in the Middle East, had demonstrated the real threat of terrorist acquisition and use of chemical and biological weapons on the battlefield or in ungoverned spaces.

The US noted that these attacks had highlighted the need for countries to have effective national responses, particularly, a strong investigative framework and established communication channels among technical experts, law enforcement, and national security stakeholders. “The United States conducted a training workshop in Abuja,

Nigeria September 19-23, 2022, with partners from Nigerian domestic security services, law enforcement, and first responders, aimed at enhancing their ability to investigate terrorist plots involving chemical and biological weapons (CBW). “As part of the training in Nigeria, U.S. technical experts provided local officials with

guidance and information to establish universally adopted crime scene management protocols to ensure that any evidence collected at a CBW crime scene can be used in a court of law and ultimately bring the perpetrator to justice,” the statement stated. It stressed that the security officials had the opportunity to navigate a simulated CBW crime

scene in full personal protective equipment, practice documenting a crime scene, and conduct proper decontamination procedures. It also added that the engagement between US and Nigerian experts involved sharing best practices and lessons learned, resulting in an increased level of preparedness against potential CBW terrorism plots or attacks.

Udora Orizu in Abuja

the federal government to deploy military personnel and material resources as well as intelligence necessary to secure the Abuja-Kaduna Expressway to enable the contractor resume work without risk to personnel and equipment. The resolutions followed the adoption of a motion of urgent public importance, sponsored by Hon. Garba Datti Mohammed.

Moving the motion, Mohammed recalled that in March 2021, Fashola announced that the Federal Executive Council had approved the contract for the rehabilitation of the Abuja-Kaduna-Zaria-Kano Expressway, amongst other approvals with a delivery date of December 2022. He also recalled that the Minister announced that the

firm, which had initially been contracted to undertake the rehabilitation work on the road, Julius Berger, would also be responsible for the reconstruction of the road. He however said following incessant and rampant incidents of banditry along the AbujaKaduna Highway, the contractor withdrew its workers from the road for security reasons.

Think Outside the Box to Boost Ekiti’s Revenue, Fayemi Tells Oyebanji Abuja-Kaduna Road: House Wants Julius Berger to Resume Work, Asks FG to Provide Security VictorOgunjeinAdoEkiti The Ekiti State Governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, yesterday counseled the Governor-Elect, Mr Biodun Oyebanji, to think outside the box to earn more revenue to make an impact in the next four years. Fayemi made the remarks during the “Thank You Tour” to Ekiti South Senatorial District held in Ikere-Ekiti. He said that despite the dwindling revenue accruing to the state, especially due to the impact of COVID-19 pandemic, his administration was able to improve on the infrastructural development of the state. He added that the state was in doldrums when he took over four years ago due to avalanche of challenges facing it, noting that

his administration has been able to restore the core values the state has been noted for and return it to the path of development. The governor said: “Nigeria is going through a lot of challenges both in political, social and economic and this is affecting the revenue coming to our state, so our governor would need a lot of thinking outside the box, to be able to do even better than we have been able to do. “You will also need a lot of support coming from our people, you will need a lot of understanding and am confident that our people will give you that support to succeed. “It is easy to forget that when we started this journey four years ago, Ekiti was in doldrums. We had a lot of challenges and we promised to restore the values of our people and restore the land for progress and development.

The House of Representatives at the plenary yesterday called on the Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola to urgently direct Julius Berger Plc which is the contractor handling Abuja-Kaduna expressway reconstruction back to site to complete the work. The House also called on

23 Deaths Recorded as Flood Displaces 12,856 Households in Benue George Okoh in Makurdi The recent flood that ravaged most parts of Benue, recorded a total of 23 persons dead with 12,856 households displaced. According to the Executive Secretary of State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA),Emmanuel Shior, who disclosed a news briefing in Makurdi, 11 out of the 23 local

government areas in the state had been affected by the flood including Guma, Vandeikya, Otukpo, Katsina -Ala, Makurdi, Apa, Agatu, Tarka, Gboko, Gwer West and Logo. According to the report, in Makurdi alone, over 30 communication had been submerged including Achusa, Gyyado Vilka, Wadata Rice mill BIPC Quarters, Kanshio,

Welfare Quters Fiidi, Wurukum, Timber Shade, Tyo Mu, Agboghol, Judges Quarters Extension, Kyabiz Hotel, Ejja Hotels and Suites, Kucha Utebe among many other areas have been submerged. He said, while 74 person had been reportedly injured, 116,084 persons had been displaced while 4,411 houses were submerged in the flood,

stating that at the moment, the government through SEMA was still profiling the affected person while providing food relief materials to them. “In Agatu, most people have left their homes and are taking refuge on the highways,” he said, adding that government has concluded plans to evacuate them to safer places in Ogbagaji.

The National Chairman of Labour Party, Julius Abure, declared yesterday that the party was ready to begin campaigns for the 2023 general election and assured the people that the party was going to run a people-oriented government. This is as he called on ruling party to demilitarise the political

His position was contained in statement by Abure in Abuja on the party’s preparedness for the campaigns that would kick off today, Wednesday, in line with the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) guidelines. Abure, who commended the chairman of INEC, Prof. Mamood Yakubu, for the reform at the

has refused to use his office against the wish of the electorate. “As a political party, we promised Nigerians that the party would run an issue-based campaign. We have also put our house in order, and we will be coming up with a formidable team that will run the campaign and that

“The Labour Party will continue to maintain that when we form government in 2023. The party will hold our presidential candidate, Mr. Peter Obi and other candidates contesting on the platform of the party accountable if they renege on the social contract entered with the people.

Diri Queries Bayelsa Population Figures, Says Nigeria Lacks 2023:We’reFullyReadyforCampaigns,SaysLabourPartyChairman atmosphere to provide a level commission, described the INEC will deliver power to the real Emameh Gabriel in Abuja Adequate Census Data playing ground for all parties. boss as an imperial umpire, who owners, the people.

Olusegun Samuel in Yenagoa

The Bayelsa State Governor, Senator Douye Diri, has faulted the population figures attributed to the state by the National Population Commission (NPC), saying they were grossly underestimated. Diri also said that the current population data for the country were inaccurate and called on the NPC to correct past census figures in the 2023 national census exercise. He stated this yesterday during the stakeholders summit on the 2023 Population and Housing Census held at the Chief DSP Alamieyeseigha Banquet Hall in Government House, Yenagoa. Buttressing his claim, the

governor stressed that the state had grown beyond the current structure of eight local government areas, noting that for instance, the projected population of Yenagoa, the state capital, points to the fact that the state’s population was misrepresented. A statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Daniel Alabrah, quoted the governor as saying that such faulty census figures were responsible for the underrepresentation of Bayelsa in the House of Representatives with only five members. Diri emphasised that due to its tremendous growth and contribution to the national economy as a result of its oil resources, Bayelsa deserved more federal presence.

2,300 Benefit from Lulu-Briggs Foundation’s Eye Care Services in Rivers

BlessingIbungeinPortHarcourt

As part of effort to reduce numbers of victims of vision impairment in Nigeria, about 2,365 persons benefitted from the free eye care services that were organised by O. B. Lulu-Briggs Foundation, which was held in Port Harcourt, Rivers State’s capital. The health services was one of the

activities to mark the 21st anniversary of the foundation that was established in 2001 to salvage the problems and challenges of humanity by meeting the needs of the less privileges at the rural and urban areas across the Niger Delta region, and Nigeria at large. The eye care team at the programme includes optometrists, ophthalmologists, nurses and other

health practitioners who attended to people with vision problems free of charge. THISDAY observed that the beneficiaries where screened, diagnosed, provided with medicines and glasses, while about 214 persons with serious cases were scheduled for surgeries at the expense of the

foundation. Speaking on the event which lasted for three days, Dr. Seinye O.B. Lulu-Briggs, founder of the organisation, explained that the goal of the eye care clinic was to help prevent vision impairment and blindness in Nigeria by encouraging timely access to quality eye care and rehabilitation.

WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 28, 2022 ˾ T H I S D AY

NEWSEXTRA

IIP-SARS Present Final Report on Human Rights Violations N438m paid to 100 victims

MichaelOlugbodeinAbuja The Independent Investigation Panel on Human Rights Violations by the

defunct SARS and other units of the Nigerian Police (IIP-SARS) yesterday presented its report to the National Human Rights Commission after

Kogi Gov to Grace Funeral Reception of Kabba Monarch’s Father that all was being taken to ensure IjeomaOkonji Governor of Kogi State, Alhaji Yahaya Adoza Bello will be leading dignitaries from across the country to the final funeral reception for the late Pa Timothy Ajayi Owoniyi, father of His Royal Majesty, the Obaro of Kabba and Chairman of the Okun Area Traditional Council, Oba (Dr) Solomon Dele Owoniyi, taking place in Kabba, Kogi State. The event will hold at noon on Saturday, October 8, 2022. The Royal Court of Kabba, which announced this in a statement, said the 25 member Pan Okun Reception Planning Committee headed by the state Commissioner for Finance, Budget and Planning, Asiwaju Asiru Idris, has given assurance

a world-class event. The statement also stated that the reception would take place at the Olonijola Events Centre Kabba, Kogi State. The statement hinted that prominent traditional rulers from across and beyond Kogi State are also expected at the reception. According to the statement, the committee also gave assurance that agencies of government have committed to providing adequate security for guests at the event. It expressed appreciation of the Owoniyi dynasty to leaders of the community, friends and associates of the family as well as the public who had demonstrated great enthusiasm in the preparations for the event.

the payment of N438 million to 100 victims in the last 10 months. The Executive Secretary of the Commission (NHRC), Tony Ojukwu, who received the report on behalf of the Chairperson of the Governing Council of the Commission, Dr. Salamatu Suleiman, noted that Justice Galadima-led panel has dedicated the last two years hearing over 200 petitions on human rights violations. He said: “Today, we are finally closing a chapter in the work of the panel but opening a new one for the Commission and all government institutions that will be

charged with the implementation of the report”. The NHRC boss stated that the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, the Police Service Commission, and the Nigerian Police Force have a huge responsibility to ensure full implementation of the decisions and recommendations of the panel. Ojukwu observed that payment of compensation is just one step in the road to justice, insisting that there is the need to hold indicted officers of the Nigerian Police accountable for these violations. He said: “I welcome the decisions

and indictments issued by the Justice Galadima Panel and I want to assure Nigerians and victims and their families that the NHRC already has an established reputation as a leading voice on Police reforms.” According to Ojukwu, “We will study these recommendations and will work with the Nigerian Police, the relevant Committees of the National Assembly, civil society, and development partners to implement the recommendations”. Besides, he commended the panel for its far-reaching recommendations on other spheres of justice delivery and human

rights enforcement including, the payment of judgment awards, institutional reforms in medical institutions, compliance with the law of the Compulsory Treatment of Gunshot Wounds, and release of corpses amongst other recommendations. In his address during the presentation of the final report, the Chairman of the panel, Justice Suleiman Galadima (rtd) stated: “We have cause to be grateful to the commission for considering myself and panel members worthy of undertaking the daunting assignment”.

Fraud: Osun Suspends Teacher for Allegedly Defrauding New Colleagues Yinka Kolawole in Osogbo Osun State Government has suspended a teacher, Mr. Olowookere Abimbola, for allegedly defrauding some recently recruited teachers of N30, 000 ‘for influencing their postings’. Reports got to the state Ministry of Education that Abimbola has been collecting the money

from the teachers in Osun East Education District to post them to their preferred school of choice anywhere outside the district. Briefing journalists on the matter, the state Commissioner for Education, Folorunsho Oladoyin, who condemned the act, advised the recently recruited teachers not to listen to anyone who demands money or other gratifications

from them under the guise of influencing their postings. He said the state government had recruited the first batch of 1,000 teachers with the determination to post them to schools and towns where their services are basically needed. The commissioner stressed that the posting of the new teachers rests solely with the state Ministry of Education

and the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) saddled with the official responsibility of knowing where the teachers are needed. Oladoyin, therefore, warned any teacher or official of the government who is still in the act of collecting money before rendering one service or another to desist from it or be ready to face the full wrath of the law.

already given his nod for the takeoff of the project, which is expected to cost about $2 billion. The governor had said that the dredging of the Orashi River would open a new economic chapter in the state and Southeast at large after its completion. An Elder Statesman, Mr. Bob

would endear the state governor to the hearts of residents of the state and boost the economic and social activities of state. Njemanze said: “There are good things the governor have done lately that has portrayed him as not sleeping, despite swimming against the tides.

achievement of this administration if he succeeds in getting the federal government to accept in dredging the river. God knows why he made us the heartland. Governor Uzodimma is doing same effort that Iwuanyanwu put in to build the Imo airport.”

‘NEXT TITAN Has Produced Approved Dredging of Orashi River Excites Stakeholders in Imo Employers of Labour’ He said that Buhari has Njemanze, noted that the project “This will be the greatest

Ugo Aliogo

As part of efforts to address unemployment in the country, the Executive Producer, The NEXT TITAN, Mide Akinlaja, has stated that the reality TV show has produced employers of labour, adding that the previous winners from the last eight seasons of the show are doing great in their businesses. He also stated that some of them have launched their businesses and created jobs for other graduates across various sectors of the economy. He disclosed that most of the participants who did not win have converted their lessons on the show into sustainable businesses. Akinlaja, who stated that this in Lagos during the premiere of the season nine of the NEXT TITAN edition themed: ‘Game Changer’, said the show is a platform aimed at engineering entrepreneurship

among Nigeria youths through identifying the best business minds and supporting their entrepreneurial acumen through logistical assistance, informal training, knowledge and other requisite services needed to propel them into successful businesses personalities. He also stated that the season nine promises to be exciting, noting that the winner of the season nine would walk home with N20 million cash prize, while the runners up would have N5 million. He disclosed that apart from the success stories of the previous winners of the show which have been phenomenal, the NEXT TITAN has also positively impacted on the generality of other young people, “who are viewers who have shared their testimonies regarding the programme causing a great shift in their minds-set to moving from job-seekers to job creators.”

Amby Uneze in Owerri

The federal government’s approval for the dredging of Orashi River, which connects to the Atlantic Ocean, has started to attract the attention of the stakeholders in Imo State. Since the approval was announced last week by Imo State Governor, Mr. Hope Uzodimma, the stakeholders that cut across party lines have expressed satisfaction that when such huge federal project is completed, massive economic and social growth would come to the state. Uzodimma revealed this to residents of the state when the Chief of Naval Staff, Rear Amiral Awwal Zubairu Gambo, who was represented by Silyranda Lassa, visited the state.

‘APC Campaign Council Media Team ‘ll Deliver Tinubu in 2023’ Adedayo Akinwale The Co- Director, Strategic Communication of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council (PCC), Dr. Danladi Bako, has said that the media team of the campaign council has the capacity, capability and character to drive the media agenda of the Tinubu/ Shettima campaign and also to win the presidential ballot convincingly. Bako in a statement issued yesterday said the careful, deliberate and definitive assemblage of some of the

finest, some of the most cerebral and temperate hands in Nigeria’s journalistic eco-system was barometer to measure and evaluate the seriousness and importance the Council, the National Working Committee (NWC) and indeed the party attaches to the electioneering imminent upon the team. He said: “The extent to which print, electronic media have grown exponentially along with the unmistakable impact the media has globally on electioneering, the electoral process and its outcomes did not escape the attention of the

APC Presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu and his running mate Sen Kashim Shettima in putting this armada together in readiness for the five months long battle ahead.” “From the indefatigable editor and former Managing Director of Nigeria’s News Agency Bayo Onanuga to the irrepressible Senior Advocate of Nigeria Festus Keyamo, to the unflappable and audacious Femi Fani-Kayode to the unparalleled resourceful broadcaster Danladi Bako , the APC leadership couldn’t have made better choices for the task ahead.

Bauchi ex-Guber Aspirant Escapes Gunmen Attack Segun Awofadeji in Bauchi

A former Bauchi State Gubernatorial Aspirant under the All Progressives Congress (APC), Mr. Muhammad Sani Al’ameen, has escaped death after gunmen opened fire at his car while on a journey on the Akwanga-Abuja Highway. THISDAY checks revealed that Al’ameen was on his way to Abuja when the unfortunate incident happened. He told journalists in Bauchi yesterday that he escaped death by the whiskers in an attack by the gunmen. According to him, “I was

coming from Bauchi to Abuja. We are approaching Akwanga. I saw some vehicles following us closely, when I observed, I asked my driver to enter AYM Shafa Filling Station, the driver said we have fuel. “I still said that we should enter the filling station. When we entered, we purchased little fuel, spent some minutes before we proceeded. When we reached the roundabout, the car just resurfaced, they ambushed us. “They blocked our vehicle and opened fire. We stopped when I heard a shot and a bang on my car. One of them opened our car and entered, pointing

his gun at us. “He asked our driver to drive, but I told the driver not to move, with Allah’s help, he obeyed me and refused to start the car. They were looking at the time, they later seized our phones, took away my briefcase and some of our personal belongings and left. “Probably, they are afraid that we were on the roundabout even though they scared people away, but since it was a busy road many vehicles will also come, that was what saved us.” Al’ameen expressed shock over the incident and attempt to either assassinate him.

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WEDNESDAYSPORTS

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

0811 181 3083 SMS ONLY

Algeria Crash Land Super Eagles’ Flight in Oran

Duro Ikhazuagbe As predicted, Super Eagles lost 1-2 to hosts Algeria in an international friendly played in Oran last night. After Lorient of France’s Ligue 1 forward, Terem Moffi, had fired Nigeria into the lead in the 9th minute, the Desert Foxes fought back gamely to tie the game 1-1 before the half time break. Captain Riyad Mahrez drew

I N T E R N AT I O N A L F R I E N D LY Algeria level in the 41st minute from a controversial penalty after Frank Onyeka was adjudged to have fouled Youcef Belaili inside Nigerian box with a meaningless tackle. In what appears a repeat of the Thomas Partey’s volley from outside the 22-metre box that denied Nigeria qualification for the World

S’Korea’s Son Nails Cameroon with First-half Header

Tottenham Hotspur forward Son Heung-min's first-half header earned South Korea victory over Cameroon in a friendly in Seoul on Tuesday. The 30-year-old nodded home a rebound in the 35th minute after Kim Jin-Su's strike was parried by Indomitable Lions keeper Andre Onana. The Central African nation, who fell 2-0 to Uzbekistan on Friday, have now suffered two defeats in their final warm-ups prior to naming their World Cup squad. Coach Rigobert Song named a strong side against the Asians in the South Korean capital, but Nicolas Moumi Ngamaleu's ambitious long-range effort was just wide midway through the first half. Exciting Hwang In-Beom and Kim Jin-Su both went close for Korea, before the latter broke free on the left to unleash a strike that was clawed away by Onana only to sit up nicely for Son's powerful header.

Cup kicking off in Qatar in less than 150 days from today, Uzoho had no answer for Youcef Atal almost 30-metre thunderbolt in the 61st minute. Thereafter, the Desert Foxes took the game to the Super Eagles, seeking more opportunities to consolidate their lead. Algeria, who topped the ball possession, would have restored

parity earlier in the 19th minute from a defensive mistake, but the upright came to the rescue of Nigeria. In the 28th minute, the Super Eagles thought they had gone 2-0 up when Moffi and Ademola Lookman combined before the Atalanta winger hit the back of the net. But that effort was ruled scored from an offside position by the Tunisian referee, Mehrez Melki. Algerian striker Islam Slimani’s header from inside the box missing

not by much in the 55th minute. Six minutes later the North Africans conjured the magical goal that decided the international friendly The speed and danger the Eagles showed going forward in the first half were missing after halftime as they created very little to trouble the Algerian defence. The absence of Victor Osimhen, Ahmed Musa, William Troost-Ekong and Sadiq Umar became very glaring in the Nigerian side.

Algeria have now won 10 headto-head meetings with Nigeria, while the Eagles were victorious on eight occasions and there have been five draws. *Nigeria’s Starting Line up Francis Uzoho – Zaidu Sanusi, Ola Aina, Calvin Bassey, Kevin Akpoguma – Frank Onyeka (Raphael Onyedika 85), Alex Iwobi, Kelechi Iheanacho (Cyriel Dessers 85) – Moses Simon (Captain), Terem Moffi (Taiwo Awoniyi 72), Ademola Lookman (Saviour Godwin 70)

Cameroon, who fielded Brentford's Bryan Mbeumo throughout, had missed chances through Olivier Ntcham, Martin Hongla, and Pierre Kunde, while Léandre Tawamba saw his stoppage-time effort saved. The five-time African champions, who begin their World Cup campaign against Switzerland and are also grouped with Brazil and Serbia in Group G at the finals, will host Jamaica in a friendly in Yaounde on 9 November before leaving for Qatar, according to Song. In another early kick-off, African champions Senegal drew 1-1 with fellow World Cup-bound Iran in Austria.

FRESULTS (FRIENDLIES) Algeria 2-1 Nigeria S’Korea 1-0 Cameroon E’Guinea 2-2 Togo Senegal 1-1 Iran DR Congo 3-0 S’Leone S’Africa 1-0 Botswana Libya 2-1 Tanzania Qatar 2-2 Chile Egypt 3-0 Liberia Nicaragua 0-1 Ghana S’Arabia 0-0 USA I’Coast 3-1 Guinea Brazil 5-1 Tunisia Paraguay 0-0 Morocco

UEFA Nations League Son Heung-min sealed South Korea 1-0 victory against Cameroon in Austria...yesterday

Portugal 0-1 Spain Switzerland 2-1 Czech Rep

Riyad Mahrez (centre) leaving the ﬁeld after leading the Desert Foxes to a 2-1 victory over Nigeria in Oran...last night

Egyptian Masters Reign Supreme at African Chess Championship Femi Solaja Egyptian Masters, yesterday proved their mastery of the game of chess as they made a clean sweep of titles in both Open and Women categories at the just concluded

Mikel Officially Retires from Football

Femi Solaja

After 20 years of topflight football, former Super Eagles Captain, John Mikel Obi, yesterday formally announced his retirement from professional football. The former Chelsea holding midfielder announced hanging his boots on his official Instagram account. And in just few hours after the post, it attracted over three million likes and 4,098 comments mostly saluting the legend who had been successful both at club and national teams, winning major trophies. “There is a saying that “all good things must come to an end”, and for my professional football career, that day is today,” Obi said in the statement. He further said, “I look back at the past 20 years of my career, and I must say that I am very satisfied with all that I was able to achieve and more importantly, the human it has helped shape. “All of this would not have been possible without the unwavering

John Mikel Obi...calls time on his football career support of my family, managers, clubs, coaches, teammates and most importantly my ever-loyal fans. You supported me through my highs and lows, even on days that I did not live up to your expectations. I say a big thank you.

“I will also like to encourage everyone who I may have inspired one way or the other in the course of my career to never give up on their dreams, for every time you think about quitting, remind yourself why you started.” Mikel began his career with domestic NPFL club Plateau United, before joining Norwegian club Lyn at the age of 17 in 2004. In 2006, he made a controversial transfer to English club Chelsea after Manchester United claimed they had already signed him. He stayed with Chelsea for 11 years, before moving to China with Tianjin TEDA in 2017. After two years in China, he returned to England on a short-term deal with Middlesbrough, before joining Trabzonspor on a free transfer in July 2019. Mikel moved back to England in August 2020 joining Stoke City. In a 14-year international career between 2005 and 2019, he played 91 times for Nigeria, scoring six goals and won AFCON 2013 title with the Super Eagles of Nigeria as his biggest feat with the national team.

African Individual Chess Championship held at Orchid Hotel in Lekki, Lagos. The duo of Grandmaster Armin Bassem and Adly Ahmed dominated their opponents as they emerged first and second respectively with no Nigerian in sight for any of the main positions on the prized section. It was another Egyptian Grandmaster, Hessham Abdulrahaman who placed third while International Master Silva David

of Angola placed fourth and FIDE Master Rakorotomaharo Fly from Madagascar followed. But Adebayo Adegboyega (FIDE Master), a veteran of many international tournaments emerged as the first Nigerian to emerge in the pool in 8th position down the ladder. Thereafter, it was pack of Nigeria players down the ladder with Eyetonghan Calistus , Okeke Isaac, Abduraman Akintoye, Bunmi Olape, Ajibola Olanrewau and

Bomo Kigigha all followed. In the women section, Egyptian Woman Grandmaster, Wafa Shahenda won the tournament ahead of South African International Master Van Zyt Chartize while Nigerian Michael Bridget was second runners up. Other Nigerian players like Onoja Iyefu, Ofowino Toritsenmuwa, Oluwatobiloba Olorunisola are among the top 10 finisher and will enjoy appreciable FIDE ratings just like the players in the Open section.

Nigeria Aquatic Federation Plans to Make Swimming Money-making Sport Kunle Adewale The Nigeria Aquatic Federation on Monday at the Teslim Balogun Stadium, Surulere, Lagos began a five-day swimming coaches conference and aquatic lifeguard profession course in which participants are taken through proper swimming techniques, lifesaving, all in an attempt not only to improve swimming in Nigeria but to make country’s waterways safe. In a chat with THISDAY, the President of the Nigeria Aquatic Federation (NAF), Chinoye Aliyu, said what the federation hopes to achieve ultimately with the programme is to promote swimming in the country so that participants can be making

money from swimming like other professionals in other sports. “Our vision is to promote swimming, make it safe, populalise the sport to make it attractive to sponsors and ultimately make it a money-making venture like other professionals in other sports,” the NAF President said. Aliyu, whose passion for swimming is unprecedented said another aim of the programme is to create awareness of the federation’s plan. “Our vision is to make Nigeria a swimming country. Swimming is health and water is life and we therefore want to give that life to Nigerians. “But the beginning of life starts with safety-one has to be alive to

benefit from swimming. That is why this course is focusing on proper coaching practices and the safety associated with the sport. That why the emphasis of this course is on coaching, lifeguard and lifesaving,” Aliyu noted. She expressed that at the end of the five-day course, the participants would have been acquainted with proper coaching modalities, lifesaving, life guarding, the proper diets and medications required for a swimmer and the psychology of swimming. The swimming coaches conference and aquatic lifeguard professional course which is the first of its kind in Nigeria would come to a close on Friday, September 30.

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BACK PAGE CONTINUATION MANIFESTOES FOR DEVELOPMENT for the purpose of genuine development is the Universal Basic Education Act was enacted in 2004. The idea of this legislation of socio-economic justice is for the federal government to support state and local governments in providing qualitative education for all. It is the duty of the parent or whoever has the custody to ensure that the child acquires basic education. Basic education in this context is defined as the education up to the Junior Secondary School (JSS). In fact, by virtue of this law, the transition from primary school to the JSS ought to be automatic as emphasis is to be put on continuous assessment. Now, many years after that noble legislation became part of the nation’s laws more than 20 million children in the streets are left behind in the race for basic education. Nigeria is reportedly the home of the largest number children out of school in the world. The state and local governments should bear responsibility for this monumental failure of governance. The shameful situation in the education sector is now compounded by the disruptions caused by insecurity in the many parts of Nigeria. The basic education of a whole generation is put in jeopardy. One of the factors responsible for the lack of qualitative education in public schools education is, of course, the poor conditions of service of teachers and other members of the labour force at all levels in the sector. Strikes in the education sector are hardly

worth headline news anymore. The government and the public seem to have lost a sense of outrage at the fact that classrooms are shut for months. Yet the hope for the millions that are out of school lies in getting them enrolled in public schools where quality education should be made available. These millions are from poor homes. The option of the few private schools providing quality education is not open to this class of Nigerians. A narrow concept of development which focuses on huge contracts awarded in the sector may not capture these deficits. In the same tone, despite the commissioning of water projects (ranging from boreholes to waterworks) potable water still remains a luxury for millions of the poor majority of Nigerians. Open defaecation is still a big issue of development in Nigeria in 2022. Poor sanitation in some parts of the country has reached a crisis point. Cholera and other water-borne diseases still plague many communities. Despite the hundreds of billions of naira in social investments, Nigeria is not yet on the path of social protection. Tens of millions are still waiting to be lifted out of poverty. Now, from China in the east to Canada in the west, expanding the frontier of development is the soul of governance in different contexts, whether the government is elected in liberal democratic tradition or selected by other means. The idea of governance

in this context should beyond random awards of contracts for projects without an integrated concept of development . After all, the job of a governor should be more more than that of a project manager. As the recent of experience Nigeria has shown, some items of infrastructure could be built by the private sector. But every serious government regardless of the system operated should take responsibility for designing the concept of the development in the interest of the majority of the people. It is not an accident that on the major issues of development facing humanity – poverty, climate change, inequality, pandemics, insecurity etc. people turn to their governments for solutions. The foregoing is the justification for isuggesting that political parties and candidates should make the key issues of development a priority. To be sure, there is no illusion whatsoever here about the concept of development. The idea of development is primarily determined by class interests. For instance, the needs of the people are basic; but some members of the the elite are sometimes enamoured of the outlandish and fanciful projects. Some of these grandiose projects are more often than not abandoned Here lies the contradiction. This contradiction has to be resolved in the interest of the poor majority. It has been proved bitterly by the magnitude of insecurity in the country that the failure to

reach a consensus about a people-centred concept of development ultimately makes everybody endangered. You cannot be talking of development with increasing inequality. Without a conscious effort at social inclusion, genuine development would remain a mirage. All told, it is instructive that all political parties could derive inspiration for drawing up manifestoes of development from the Chapter II of the 1999 Constitution. The “Fundamental Objectives and the Directive Principles of State Policy” stipulated in the chapter include what a government should do for the benefits of the people in the areas of security, health, education, social housing, food security, job creation, mass transit, water supply, sanitation etc. Liberal and conservative lawyers would be quick to remind us that those provision are not “justiciable.” Most politicians hardly make reference to that chapter of the constitution. Yet those who seek power and their experts should work out the costs of these essential policies for the purpose of development and how to fund their implementation. That should be a central part of every manifesto. Nigeria can be on the path of development if political parties and their candidates for executive and legislative offices elect to fulfil those social, economic and political objectives in the Chapter II of the constitution.

These detailed initiatives are not directed at changing the character of land ownership and improving livelihood and income generation in rural communities. None of the initiatives is aggressively tailored to channel agricultural development into industrialization as was done in East Asia. There are not many significant geographical variations between China, South Korea, and Taiwan on one hand and Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam and Hong Kong on the other hand. They share similar past of poor, rural and agrarian economies with massive social injustice in terms of land barons who excruciatingly pauperized tenants and peasants who worked on their land. Each of them tried some form of agrarian reform. But the successful Northeast Asian countries were the ones that included redistribution of land and fiscal and policy support to ensure higher productivity and increased rural prosperity for former tenants. Tying redistribution to agrarian reform was critical to economic development in rural and poor economies in the successful Asian countries. Nigeria needs to do the same. Nigeria cannot become a real economic powerhouse unless it unleashes the potentials of its rural communities. Here, the divergent results from Asia tell a good story. The unsuccessful South Asian countries like Thailand pretended to execute a land reform that reinforced rural inequality and reduced farm yield. Their agrarian policy did not boost rural economy and therefore cut off the oxygen for industrialization, which is enhanced domestic consumption. Whereas Northeast Asian countries provided credits to poor farm owners in order to stave off repossession by the land grabbers, the unsuccessful South Asian countries allowed, and in some cases reinforced cultural, social and economic institutions of rural inequality. It is therefore no magic that in North East Asia we saw high economic growth resulting in lower inequality. In South East Asia, lower economic growth produced more inequality. In Latin America, even lower economic growth produced even higher inequality. Contrast with the United States which made its transition to industrial economy in the late 19th century with sets of progressive policies by Alexander Hamilton, the Secretary of Treasury, including land purchase and distribution to poor families. These policies resulted in equitable economic development. This is another proof that economic equality is good for economic growth. Nigeria’s agro-industrial policy should focus on rural industrialization, or at least pay enough attention to agro reform in the rural communities. This is supported by the Asian experience. Each of the Asian countries that succeeded as industrial economy was hardnosed in selecting the right economic policies that reformed rural agriculture, ruthlessly promoted industrialization, and focused financial transaction towards promoting exportoriented agriculture and manufacturing. Notably, they refused to create a financial market that bubbled wealth into the pockets of entrepreneurs but left manufacturing plants without access to finance. The unsuccessful one promoted few privately-owned plantations in the name of agrarian reform, promoted merchandise and assembling plants instead of manufacturing plants and turned their banks into financiers of skyscrapers and shopping malls that created billionaires but impoverished the country. As we consider the different visions and strategies of economic reform that the candidates offer, it is time to reflect on the lens of economic history, particularly of similarly underdeveloped Asian countries. East Asian economies succeeded not because they embraced the whole doctrine of free market. They succeeded because they avoided ideology and embraced pragmatism. China has a long history of false steps, even up to the period of Mao Zedong and the cultural revolution. The Great Leap Forward set China back, especially with the collectivization of agriculture, resulting in mass death and failed industrialization. Deng Xiaoping changed the game. He initiated a gradual, programmatic, and sensible reform that started with returning the land to dispossessed peasants with guaranteed tenure to encourage irrigation, higher seedlings, and extension services. Xiaoping tracked the benefit of increased productivity in agriculture into gradual industrialization. At a point he started to open China to western technology and capital, but in a controlled and strategic manner using special economic zones. China abhorred the rigid ideologies of communism and the laisse faire theory of neoliberalism and embraced pragmatism. This approach is exemplified by the famous saying of Deng Xiaoping that it does not matter whether my cat is red or white if it catches rat. China

followed the example of Japan and South Korea where pragmatic leaders like General Park wisely implemented transformative reform of agriculture and deliberate but systematic protection and nurturing of infant industry to transition their countries to industrial economies. In these countries, pragmatic leaders enhanced efficiency not by surrendering to the free trade, but rather using export discipline to improve productivity. The secret of the success of the East Asian countries is the pragmatic insight that what will ensure industrialization is to protect and nurture infant industry through export discipline. Export promotion worked where import substitution failed in Africa. China and the rest recognized the pitfall of crony capitalism. When they raise tariff to protect infant industries, they forced those industries to perform according to export benchmarks. Those who failed lost the fiscal and policy support. By so doing they chose winners and losses, not through political patronage, but through the discipline of international trade. This is the model of a development state; a government, as Stephen Cohen and J Bradford DeLong in their book, Concrete Economics: The Hamilton Approach to Economic Growth and Policy, “that signaled the direction, cleared the way, set up the path, and – when needed- provided the means” We need Home-grown economics; and home-grown economics thrives on effective leadership. The divergence between China and the successful East Asian country on one hand and African countries on another hand may be the quality of leadership during their transitions. We can even notice the difference that leadership makes to development in the varying outcomes in different countries of East Asian. South Korea made it. Malaysia has not. Malaysia attempted some of the policies that South Korea, China, and Japan practiced. Malaysia tried to do agricultural reform. It had ambition to be an industrial power and boosts a financial high street. What went wrong? Well. The answer is selection of policies and failure to execute properly. Unlike General Park, Malaysian Prime Minister, Mahatir, did not undertake the sort of agrarian reform that freed rural households from economic misery and improved farm yield. In the place of household farming Malaysia build one-man plantations. Most of the political elites were landlords of these plantation. On manufacturing, Malaysia did not impose the sort of export discipline that South Korea imposed on its industrialists. The lack of export discipline encouraged cronyism and ensured the thriving of assembling plants rather than manufacturing plants. Malaysia allowed politically connected persons to own banks and use them to get rich. As they say, to steal a country own a bank. Capitalist used the banks to finance skyscrapers and shopping malls whereas banks in South Korea financed manufacturing. The result is that few Malaysians became billionaires and the country lagged in industrialization whereas in South Korea, few Koreans were millionaires while they country advanced as an industrial economy. The pragmatism of the successful East Asian economies was a product of both the pedigree, training and temperament of the leaders who happened on the scene after their independence. These leaders, particularly those of South Korea and China were well informed about the conditions of colonialism and the ideological basis of their underdevelopment. They came from the right side of the social divide, namely the peasants (although Deng was a grandchild of a former ruler). They also were patriotic and overwhelmed with a passion for industrial takeoff of their countries. Although they were flawed men, they were all undivided on the mission. They were not prisoners of narrow and sectional interests. One thing was very clear, they forged no strategic business or political interests with foreign or local business class so they could exercise clear-sighted and emphatic direction of the business communities. They never believed that private sector would develop their country. Rather, they believed that the public sector would develop the country using the private sector. Theirs was entrepreneurial governance, mobilizing and incentivizing for the long-term buck, not the short-term gain. They did not abandon leadership to the private sector. they recognized the principles and forces of the market, and they deliberately and firmly used those to push their economies from poverty to prosperity. That is what we need in 2023 and beyond. r%S 4BN "NBEJ JT %JSFDUPS PG "CVKB 4DIPPM PG 4PDJBM BOE 1PMJUJDBM 5IFPSZ

A DIFFERENT ECONOMICS FOR 2023 a state of nature. It is a socio-political construction. Thomas Piketty rightly states in his magisterial work, Capital and Ideology (2020), that “Inequality is neither economic nor technological: it is ideological and political”. So, moving Nigeria into sustainable productivity requires good analysis of the cause of its stagnation. It is bad strategy not to thoroughly understand a problem before proffering solutions. Low productivity and high inequality are the twin crises of the Nigeria’s economic collapse. These derive from, and are reinforced by, a dysfunctional and incoherent state order. That order originates from the neo-feudal and colonial character of the Nigerian state. Claude Ake diagnosed the manifestations of the colonial state order as ‘disarticulation’ and ‘incoherence’. Claude Ake adopted ‘articulation’ and ‘coherence’ as conceptual framework to critique post-colonial political economy because he was concerned with their spatial constraints. But, in my view, their normative constitution is more important, hence neo-feudalism offers a better lens to perceive the incoherence and disarticulation of the Nigerian economy. In the context of disarticulation and incoherence or neopatrimonialism and elitism of the Nigerian economy, Nigerian presidential candidates should focus attention on how to change the state order in order to create an environment that enables higher productivity and social stability based on shared prosperity and egalitarian economic institutions. But sadly, none of them tries to analyze the pathologies of the state order that determine and reinforce the economic failure of the Nigerian state. None of them proposes to change the character of the state. This is pitiable because we know that the state order determines the trajectory of economic development. In the case of China, as Qian remarked, the choice of reform policies was determined by “first the initial historical conditions, and second, the contemporary constraints”. Let us take some look at the various policy options of the presidential candidates and how the conceive the character of the state and its role in economic development. All of the candidates are pro-markets. That is not bad. A healthy faith in the principles of the market economic like the rule of law and protection of property rights is necessary for economic development. Both Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi accept the logic of the market and allow the private sector leading role in the economy. This does not significantly change the direction of economic policymaking since 1999 when Atiku Abubakar played key role in a pro-market economic reform. That reform succeeded in improving Nigeria’s GDP and creating several institutions of economic growth. The administration was neoliberal with some strain of social market model. But the failure of its policy options consists in the fact that in spite of between 6 and 9% GDP growth for about a decade, Nigeria remained a very poor country with low productivity. The administration did not transform the structure of the Nigerian political economy and didn’t launch it into a new orbit of economic development, unlike the Deng administration in China and General Park’s in South Korea. In the Atiku plan, the response to the Nigeria’s dysfunctional state formation and its deleterious impact on economic development is to basically shift economic functions from the public to the private sector. This requires privatization and reduction of price and policy distortions. This is a little bit more of same. Since the 1980s with the fiscal crisis and the Structural Adjustment Programme of the international finance institutions, the prescribed policy response to economic failure has been liberalization, privatization, and commercialization. The renewed call for privatization and the focus on ‘getting prices right’ will still be insufficient to overcome the incoherence and neopatrimonialism of the Nigerian economy. In the main, Ahmed Bola Tinubu proposes what can be called a ‘planned economy’. He proposes to return the price control board of the late 1960s and 1970s. He wants a bigger and active government that would get involved in economic transactions in the same manner of the federal government of the military era. His government will expand public expenditure as a demand-side based economic stimulus to create 12% GDP growth. For want of a better word, Tinubu’s plan has an element of ‘dirigiste’ without the reformist approach associated with version of these command economies in socialist France and Bismarck Germany. Tinubu does not speak about transforming the rentier economy. He will plant a planned economy on Nigeria’s incongruous state

order of endemic corruption and state capture. Peter Obi is closest to strategic reform of the political economy. But here he misses the trees for the forests. He wants to move Nigeria from consumption to production without bothering about neo-feudal and neo-patrimonial character of the Nigerian political economy. He does not speak about recreating the Nigerian state short of the usual good governance indicators of transparency and accountability Worse still, his economic plan suffers significant degree of incoherence in the potential tension between his neoliberal prescriptions to deal with government failure and the market-oriented reform of the Nigerian state. What is clear is that the economic plans of these candidates offer short shrift to the crisis of the state and the role that a reformed public sector will play in starting Nigeria towards transformation. The strategic initiatives of the troika betray an incoherent diagnosis of the underlying causes of Nigeria’s economic woes and a halfhearted commitment to radical change. At this point in Nigeria’s history, an economic development strategy must, like Joseph Stiglitz wisely observed, be such as is “aimed at facilitating the transformation of society, in identifying the barriers to, as well as potential catalysts for, change”. This is how China and the rest of the successful Asian countries managed their economic development. They ‘imposed’ desirable order on the dysfunctions of their feudal and aristocratic societies. The main cause of our economic failure from independence to date is the failure to commit to comprehensive and radical transformation of the social bases of economic transactions. Nigerian policymakers in the First Republic were ideological rather than programmatic in the reforming the institutions of economic transaction. This approach resulted in the failure of the audacious development policies of that period. The first black Nobel Laureate in Economics, W. Arthur Lewis, noted this ideological obfuscation of African policy elites who enamored themselves of inapplicable Marxist concept of class society and overlooked the need to transform the neo-feudal character of the rural economy. This trend continues today with the neoliberal orientation of economic policymaking that detracts from the strategic work of structurally and normatively transforming structures, norms, and institutions of economic life. As Lewis puts it in his classic, The Theory of Economic Growth (1955), economic growth requires that (1) we improve the capacity of the society to economize, which means ability to reduce “the cost of any given product, or by increasing the yield from any given input or resources,(2) capacity to increase knowledge and its application, and (3) increase the amount of capital per head. This framework of economic growth requires radical transformation of society to entrench ‘economizing’ as a social norm and institutionalize egalitarian institutions. The success of China and the rest of the Asian economies is because of this strategic approach to economic development that focused on diagnosing the problematic and recreating the social and political determinants of economic transactions. Their leaders were grounded in the lived experiences of their societies and deliberately removed constraints that held back the people from production. This approach manifest in the transformation of rural agricultural into industrial prowess. In terms of agro-reform, China and South Korea did extremely well unlike Malaysia and Thailand because the former focused on transforming the character of social and economic relations in rural communities. They were not stuck on the theories of the free market but recognized the need to empower small-holder farmers and use agrarian reform to reform feudal relations in their societies. All the candidates for President in 2023 plan to boost productivity in agriculture. This is in keeping with the advertised policy priority of many previous and present Nigerian governments. Peter Obi intends to cultivate more arable lands and grow excess grains and use them for clean energy. Tinubu has big ideas for agriculture including establishment of a new National Policy on Agriculture and a Commodity Board to control price of agricultural products. Atiku’s has a more detailed and structured proposed intervention in agriculture. He will engage with states to undertake land reform, privatize Nigerian commodity exchanges and allow for private sector commodity marketing corporations, enhance access to capital for agriculturalists and encourage modernization and supportive tax regimes.

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Manifestoes for Development A

s open campaigns for the 2023 elections begin today, it is important that political parties and their candidates have prominently on their agendas genuine development of the people. In the first quarter of next year, a new president and 30 new governors will be elected. In addition, scores of lawmakers will also be voted into the national and state legislative chambers. Depending on their concepts of development, these new chief executive officers of state and lawmakers can in four years do a lot to advance the cause of development using the instrumentality of people-centred policies. Ultimately, the governance outputs would be determined by their understanding and commitment to development in real terms. In other words, at least there should be an elite consensus on the very idea of development. It is the lack of this socio-economic and political consensus among members of the elite (in and out of power) that has deepened the crisis of governance and underdevelopment at all levels. The most manifest symptoms of this crisis include poverty, inequality, insecurity, disease and ignorance. Celebrated political economist Claude Ake observed: “The assumption so readily made that there has been a failure of development [in Africa] is misleading. The problem is not so much that development has failed as that it was never really on the agenda in the first place.” This observation made by Professor Ake in his seminal work, Democracy and Development in Africa, is still worth pondering by the experts working on the manifestoes of the political parties and their candidates participating in all the categories of elections. Parties and candidates could, of course, prefer different strategies of development. That may be a function of divergent ideological approaches. But

Prof Yakubu Mahmood, Chairman, Independent Electoral Commission (INEC) there must be a clarity of purpose on what exactly constitutes development. Therefore, during the campaigns there should be decent debates about development options and direction of the country. It should be possible to locate amidst the voices in the campaigns the

difference in development policies. This should be clear from the arguments of the various partisans of political parties. Making the consensus on development the focus could distinguish the 2023 elections from the previous ones. In order to impress the electorate, politicians are wont to promise the execution of a number of projects and the enactment of legislations to back up their policies. Cheery statistics will be projected in making quantitative projections for the future. . Beyond technical arguments, however, projects and laws in the book do not automatically translate to an improvement in the quality of the lives of the poor majority. This point is relevant because in the next five months a lot of projects and laws would be promised by politicians at all levels. It would be necessary to ask the politicians how they would put into effect the existing laws and complete the projects begun by previous administrations. Take a sample! The Power Sector Reform Act came into existence in 2005. It was hailed as a developmental leap given the centrality of electricity to social life and economic activities. The optimism heightened eight years later when the reform was put into effect by the privatisation exercise that took place in the sector. Now the output from that important sector remains largely unsatisfactory. If you asked 10 economic experts why the power situation remained dark, you would likely get 10 different lectures laden with technical jargons and enormous statistics. Hardly would you get an answer to the simple question: why is that after 17 years of power sector reform domestic consumers cannot have their homes lit while industrial consumers still power their factories and offices with diesel in generating sets? Yet, as the Yoruba would say, ti a bi f’ogun odun pinle were, odun melo gan la fe fi

siwin na (if it takes 20 years to rehearse madness, how many years will it take to practise the real act)? A similar story could be told in the healthcare sector. The National Health Insurance Scheme was introduced in 2005. With the aim of democratising access to healthcare delivery, the National Health Act of 2014 as well as its offshoot, the Basic Health Care Provision Fund (BHCPF) are also in place. Empirically, no one can deny the efforts at reform in the health sector in the last 20 years. However, the sad truth is that millions of poor Nigerians are yet to be beneficiaries of a universal healthcare coverage. So disease remains a poignant aspect of underdevelopment. Members of the elite have no confidence in the poorly equipped public hospitals with a demoralised staff. The poor majority cannot afford the huge expenses of private hospitals at home and abroad, an option which we members of the elite could consider. Even with the building of the physical facilities and the significant embrace of technology in the health sector, the development indices in the sector cannot be positive until the condition of the workforce running the system is tremendously improved upon. At the heart of the needed investment in the sector should be a conscious improvement in the conditions of service of the labour force in the ssystem. The series of strikes in the sector do not evoke an sense of public emergency anymore because the members of the elite who have a voice are not affected by the disruptions. The quality of healthcare delivery is important in defining the concept of development. This is because basic healthcare is one of the areas in which policies could make direct impacts on millions of people. Another law that should be fully implemented Continued on page 46

SAMAMADI A Different Economics for 2023 A GUEST COLUMNIST

t the last count, two of the leading candidates for the 2023 presidential election have addressed the private sector on their economic development plans, under the auspices of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce, Mines, and Industries. What has come out of this engagement is that none of the candidates has an innovative and accomplished plan that can redirect the economy in the age of uncertainty and changed global economy. They are either a less coherent or less transformative economic proposal. Apart from technical points about enabling a private sector led economy, there are no grand visions, and no significant paradigm shifts that give hope of real change in economic realities after 2023. These plans betray an insufficient understanding of global political economy and a less strategic approach to economic policymaking. It is annoying that all the major candidates keep harping about the private sector as the driver of their economic plans. The orthodoxy of chanting ‘private sector- led economic plan’ suggests that the candidates are yet to learn the key lesson of economic development, to wit, that economic development is more strategic than theoretical; and therefore, economic history is more important in that regard than economic theory. An effective economic development strategy for Nigerian in 2023 must flow from a proper understanding of economic history. What does economic history teach us? First it teaches that those who focus on ideologies rather than strategies fail in the development race. Second, it teaches that you need a proper diagnosis of the crises of development before you can overcome them. Thirdly, it teaches that you need an effective state willing to intervene in economic matters in smart, firm, and comprehensive manner to achieve development. You cannot insource an effective state. You can outsource other inputs of development, but you cannot outsource the role of the state in economic development. If the state is dysfunctional or ineffective, you cannot get substantial and sustained economic development. So, the nature of the state and its institutionalization matter for economic development. The policy proposals of the leading candidates do not address the crisis of the Nigerian state and how it impacts on prospects of sustained

Peter Obi economic development. In that wise, their plans are mere technical roadmaps without architectural design. In the context of the deficient grasp of the crisis of development in Nigeria by the leading contenders for the highest office in the land, the most pressing challenge with regard to the 2023 presidential elections is to rescue the debate about Nigerian future by making two moves. First is to assert that in 2023 Nigeria’s economic policy orientation should be developmentalist rather than routine. The Nigerian state should move away from being a rentier and a ‘night watchman’ state. This means that its economic planners must deliberately work against perverse trends and impose a desirable outcome on the Nigerian economic landscape. They should not be watchers of economic trends who allow market forces deliver what they will. They should not just hold the fair balance for the private sector to deliver its business plan. They should be planners and managers who leverage on the principles and forces of the market to

create an economic system that guarantees prosperity and freedoms for Nigerian people. It is true as Adam Smith observed in 1776 that pursuing our individual interest, under certain economic conditions, results in outcomes that are beneficial to the public. But the caveat is ‘under certain economic condition’. In 1776 of mercantilism in which state authorities captured the agrarian enterprises to fund war and imperial conquests, the ‘invisible hand of the market’ alone was a game changer. But in Nigeria of 2023 of chronic underdevelopment, the ‘invisible hand of market’ needs the ‘visible hand of government’. Such hand has to be smart, strong, and firm. Rethinking the role of the Nigerian state should be the starting point of a new economics for 2023 and beyond. This rethinking has to move beyond political and economic orthodoxies and be grounded in the reality of the Nigerian situation and the changing global political economy. The fact of the matter is that no nation develops outside the contexts- intellectual and political- of its times. Although, there are general principles of economic development that can be teased from economic theory and history, their implementation has to be grounded in the practical conditions of a country and a moment. As Yingyi Qian observed in respect of economic reform in China, universal principles of economics need to be tropicalized to fit into the peculiar characteristics of the country. The key question is: what are the special characteristics of the Nigerian state and what should be done to make it a productive state in the contexts of the current economic and social conditions? The leading candidates seem to be presenting a conception of the Nigerian state that is still trapped in the ideology of neoliberalism that has characterized economic policymaking since the 1980s. But in the face of the fact that the neoliberal state in Nigeria has been both illegitimate and ineffective, is it not now time to rethink the state in economic development in Nigeria. The political economic doctrine of the state is complicated. We cannot treat that in single essay of this length. But some facts have to be mentioned. First, is that the state order in Nigeria and other African countries has been a major challenge to their development. Diverse

scholars like Mahmood Mamdani and Claude Ake have pointed out the oddity of the state formation in Africa and how it has created a dysfunctional state that is incoherent and ineffective. The burden of colonial history cannot be discounted in reconstructing the Nigerian state. In spite of the weakness of dependency theory, we know that the flaws of the Nigerian state are defined by its incoherent formation. History matters, as Daron Acemoglu and James A Robinson argued in Why Nations Fail (2012). But institution matters too. Historical path-dependency can be superseded through institutional redesign, as Douglas North notes. But to effectively redesign the state you must first understand its pathologies. The Nigerian state is constructed around neo-feudal norms and practices. This undermines production and distributional justice. it undermines production by discarding meritocracy and providing incentives for rent-seeking and disincentive for innovation and creativity. It undermines distributional justice by disposing governance and economic policymaking not to focus on the wellbeing of citizens and denuding the state of social protection. This weakens economic and social wellbeing, which circles back to loss of productivity. The second fact of Nigerian state formation that is crucial for a new economics for 2023 is that the unstable and incoherent state order is made worse by the inequitable distribution of welfare. The ultraconservative norms that have defined the development of Nigeria’s socio-economic history have imposed on it an inclination towards gross inequality. Nigeria has a very high Ginicoefficient of 35.10% as at 2019. If we factor non-incomebased assessment, Nigeria is more unequal than most countries in Africa. Gross inequality is not a happenstance. It is an expected result of institutionalized privilege and deprivation, that occur through the budgeting process, through labor and social laws, and through absence of effective remedies for economic injustice. An example of the later is the non-justiciability of the economic and social rights in the Nigerian constitution. One lesson we learnt from economists of inequality like Thomas Piketty and Emmanuel Sarz is that inequality is not Continued on page 46

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MISSILE Ortom to Jemgbagh “For those, who claimed to be leaders of this Jemgbagh Develop- ment Association, Abuja, we urge them to be truly developmental in their drive to build cohesion among the people and attract real development to their area rather than engaging in mischief or blackmail.” - Governor Samuel of Ortom of Benue State rejecting allegations by an ethnic association, Jemgbagh, that he supported the moves to remove the National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Dr. Iyorchia Ayu.

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