TUESDAY 3RD NOVEMBER 2020 by THISDAY Newspapers Ltd

WTO Officials Mull Delay in Okonjo-Iweala’s Fate over COVID-19 Scare Obinna Chima with agency report The World Trade Organisation’s (WTO) efforts to elect a new leader next week could be delayed for at least another month because of the rapid spread of COVID-19 in

Switzerland. While some in-person meetings may be virtual, it was gathered that senior WTO officials are discussing whether to postpone their plan to formally confirm Nigeria’s candidate, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, as the next

director-general of the WTO. According to Bloomberg, on Sunday, Geneva’s cantonal authorities announced strict new lockdown measures amid a surge in infections and hospitalisations in the Swiss city. From November 2 until

November 29, the area will prohibit public and private events of more than five people. The development could further disrupt the WTO’s ability to confirm OkonjoIweala as the first African and first woman to lead the

organisation in its 25-year history. A General Council meeting had been scheduled for November 9 at the WTO’s headquarters in Geneva to break the deadlock triggered in the appointment of a new director-general after

the United States opposed Okonjo-Iweala's candidacy in the aftermath of her trouncing her only challenger, South Korean Trade Minister, Ms. Yoo Myung-hee, at the voting session. Continued on page 8

Trump, Biden in Close Race as Americans Vote Today... Page 16 Tuesday 3 November, 2020 Vol 25. No 9339. Price: N250

www.thisdaylive.com TR

UT H

& RE A S O

Diplomat Reveals Nigeria’s Role in American Hostage’s Rescue Says Buhari approved mission to Sokoto Iyobosa Uwugiaren in Abuja Details emerged yesterday on the role Nigeria played in the rescue of an American

kidnapped in Niger but liberated by the United State elite Special Force, SEAL Team Six on Saturday in Sokoto State.

A senior diplomat told THISDAY that the Nigeria intelligence community provided the ‘’intelligence operation’’ that made

the rescue mission of the American, Philip Walton, successful. Walton was kidnapped on October 26 in Niger and

ferried to Nigeria by his kidnappers. The source spoke against the backdrop of bickering between the ruling All

Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Sunday over Continued on page 8

Northern Leaders Back FG’s Quest to Censor Social Media Govs, monarchs, others reaffirm commitment to Nigeria's unity Accuse separatist groups of hijacking #EndSARS protest for sinister motives John Shiklam in Kaduna Northern leaders, comprising governors, traditional rulers and senior political appointees from the region, yesterday backed the campaign by the federal government to regulate social media. They also reaffirmed their commitment to the indivisibility, indissolubility and oneness of Nigeria, while alleging that those pushing for superlative agitations and other change-regime actions outside the ballot box hijacked the peaceful #EndSARS protests to further their separatist agenda. The Northern leaders also called for strict watch on the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) to guide against unwarranted and destructive protests as well as to safeguard critical

national assets. These were some of the resolutions reached at a meeting the Northern States Governors' Forum (NSGF) held with traditional rulers, some federal government officials, including the Inspector General of Police, Mr. Mohammed Adamu, and leaders of the National Assembly in Kaduna. The meeting, presided over by the NSGF Chairman and Plateau State Governor, Mr. Simon Lalong, was attended by governors of Kaduna, Kebbi, Kwara and Zamfara States. The governors of Kogi and Kano states were represented by their deputies. In a communiqué issued after the meeting, the Northern leaders decried Continued on page 8

NCC Approves e-SIM Trial for MTN, 9Mobile... Page 6

COME BACK TO WORK... L-R: Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki (left), and State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Johnson Kokumo, during the governor’s meeting with top police oﬃcers of the command in Benin City...yesterday

TUESDAY NOVEMBER 3, 2020 â&#x20AC;¢ T H I S D AY

TUESDAY, ÍťË&#x153; ÍşÍ¸ÍşÍ¸ Ëž T H I S D AY

NEWS

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

CJN Urges New Judges to Shun Gratifications

Alex Enumah

The Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Ibrahim Muhammad, yesterday told newly-appointed judges of the High Court of Justice and Kadis of Sharia Court to shun gratifications in the discharge of their duties. The CJN also admonished them to be proactive and devise personal means to curb "persistent delays in the administration of justice," which, according to him, is a major bane in the nation's judiciary. Muhammad gave the charge while declaring open the 2020 virtual induction course for the judges and Kadis in Abuja. He said: "It is no longer news that much of the criticisms levelled against the justice delivery system in Nigeria are about persistent delays in the administration of justice, bias and wrong applications of laws. "These acts are often not to the delight of litigants and court users as they often frown upon the way services are rendered. "As such, a better understanding of the current trends in justice administration will help you appraise and curb the waste of judicial time and resource thereby ensuring justice delivery is efficient and

proactive. "Accordingly, while discharging your duties, it is important to note that all forms of gratification must not be associated with you. You must not be found wanting; transparency, honesty and accountability must remain your watch-word. I urge you, therefore, to eschew corruption in the discharge of your duties.â&#x20AC;? He advised them to be abreast of relevant laws; maintain judicial authority in the courtroom; develop a simple style of judgment writing and optimise their time and resources. The CJN advised the new judges to understand their operating environment so as to avoid possible pitfalls and challenges when deciding matters brought before them. In a welcome address, Administrator of the National Judicial Institute (NJI), Justice Rosaline Bozimo (rtd), noted that the theme: 'Inculcating judicial excellence in the newlyappointed judicial officers, is apt because the course is aimed at equipping the new judges for the challenges on the higher bench as it relates to adjudication and other ancillary issues. The administrator, who reminded the new judges

that their appointment is a privileged one, said they must do everything to live above board. She said: "Let me use this medium to caution you to refrain and spurn all forms of corrupt practices bearing in

mind the provisions of the code of conduct for judicial officers and the oath of office, which you have sworn to. "It is my firm belief that you will continue to adhere to this admonition; in the same vein, this course will aid you in the

proper application of the code of conduct for judicial officers in the discharge of your duties; and be assured that the institute will be more than willing to conduct workshops that will aid you in the discharge of your duties."

Bozimo urged the new judicial officers to perform their duties faithfully and "without fear or favour, affection or ill will, but in accordance with the provisions of the relevant laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria."

RESTRUCTURING ON FRONT BURNER... L-R: Ekiti State Governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi; MD/CEO, Ahmadu Bello Memorial Foundation, Mr. Abubakar Umar; and Chairman Board of Trustees, Dr. Babangida Aliyu, during a visit by the leadership of the foundation to the governor in Ado-Ekitiâ&#x20AC;Śyesterday

Airlines Owe Aviation Agencies N22. 2bn, Says Sirika House committee seeks suspension of airports' concession FG to start disbursement of N5bn bailout Deji Elumoye, Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja and Chinedu Eze in Lagos The Minister of Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika, yesterday put the debts of Nigerian airlines over the last 10 years to aviation agencies at about N22.2 billion. Sirika also said the federal government would soon start the disbursement of the N5 billion bailout it approved for the operators of the aviation sector. The House of Representatives, however, directed the Ministry of Aviation to suspend the planned ceding of four airports to private investors, pending the resolution of the contentious issues raised by labour unions and other stakeholders. Sirika spoke in Abuja at a public hearing on the Civil Aviation Amendment bills by the National Assembly, which would modernise and make the countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s aviation industry, be in tandem with international best practices. The minister explained that the domestic carriers owe the agencies $6.9 million and N19.6 billion respectively and lamented their inability to pay their bills to the agencies, including five per cent charge from the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), passenger service charge, landing and parking fees to the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) and overflight charges to the National Airspace

Management Agency (NAMA). The public hearing, organised by the Senate, is the first leg of the hearing by the National Assembly for the amendment of the Civil Aviation Amendment bills and that of other agencies in the aviation industry. Sirika made the disclosure of the debts in response to the request by the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Aviation, Senator Smart Adeyemi, who canvassed for bailout fund for the airlines to save them from bankruptcy. Sirika stated that the federal government would soon start the disbursement of the N5 billion bailout it approved for the operators of the aviation sector. He said the airline operators would get N4 billion while other businesses in the aviation sector would be given N1 billion. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The federal government has approved N4 billion as a bailout for the airlines and N1 billion for other businesses within civil aviation. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We are already putting arrangements for the disbursement in place and once we start, it would be transparently done,â&#x20AC;? he added. However, Adeyemi, said the N4 billion would not be enough to keep the airline operators in the business. He added that the fortunes of airlines globally have degenerated because of the COVID-19 pandemic and the Nigerian carriers are not

left out. According to him, other countries have given huge bailout funds to their airlines in order to sustain their operations and retain their manpower. Also, Adeyemi, in his welcome address, said the public hearing was important in order to encourage the quality and content of the bills, ensure economic growth, improved job creation, provision of Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) facilities and safety of the industry. He noted that without the review of the Civil Aviation Acts, the policy of the government to implement the master plan for the sector would not be achieved, while the nationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s aviation industry would continue to lag behind. He warned that if the challenges of the indigenous airlines were not urgently addressed by the government, most of the carriers may close shop soon and called on Sirika to ensure increment in the palliative funds approved for the carriers. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s look at the cost of spare parts for the airlines and duties that they perform. Though we might argue that the business is a private one, it is centred around safety. "The N4 billion approved for the airlines by the federal government is too little to make an impact on the operations of the airlines,â&#x20AC;? he said. The six aviation agencies, which their Acts are being

amended or repealed, are the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) Act, the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) Act, the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) Act, the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NIMET) Act, the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT) Act and the Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB). Speaking at the public hearing, the Senate President, Dr. Ahmad Lawan, said the issues to be addressed in the bills were sufficient enough to ensure safe travel and enhance security in the Nigerian aviation industry. The NCAA Director-General, Capt. Musa Nuhu, in his presentation, said the agency was supposed to be the only regulatory body in the country. He, however, said some of the service providers in the aviation agencies, such as the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria Act, 1995 and the Nigerian Airspace Management Act, 1999, gave them regulatory powers, contrary to the recommended practices of ICAO, which required only the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) of every ICAO member state to act as the only autonomous regulator of civil aviation in the member state. He explained that the findings of FAA Category 1 Certification Audit of Nigeria, conducted in 2010 and ICAO audit recommended that Nigeria should take corrective

actions to address the finding by amending the establishment laws, to remove regulatory powers from service provider agencies, which Nigeria accepted. Meanwhile, the House of Representatives has directed the Ministry of Aviation to suspend the planned ceding of four airports to private investors pending the resolution of the contentious issues raised by the unions and other stakeholders. The federal government recently announced that it has commenced the concession process for four new international airport terminals, comprising Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt and Kano. The House Committee on Aviation gave the directive to halt the concession process yesterday in Abuja following the refusal of Sirika to appear before it and clear grey areas as regards the planned concession of the four airports. The Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Mr. Hassan Musa, had told the committee that the minister could not make it because he was attending a public hearing on a bill at the Senate. However, the excuse did not go down well with the members of the committee who said the minister deliberately refused to appear despite the seriousness of the issue. The committee also said the minister, even though he was a former lawmaker, has no regard for the committee.

The committee suspended all actions concerning the concession until the minister appears before it. The Chairman of the committee, Hon. Nnolim Nnaji, said everybody was aware of the impact of COVID-19 on the aviation sector, which he said would take a while for the industry to recover, hence, the need for the committee to strive to do whatever is necessary to help stabilise the sector. Nnaji stated: "Based on the outcome of the meeting with the labour unions, the committee invited the Minister of Aviation and the heads of agencies under him to discuss the issue of the airportsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; concession. Several dates were fixed for the meeting but for one reason or the other, they failed to attend. "The committee had also received several letters from stakeholders both in favour and against the airportsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; concession. In view of this, the House of Representatives Committee on Aviation hereby requests that the concession of the four airports should be put on hold pending the resolution of the contentious issues raised by the unions and other stakeholders to avoid industrial actions that may further cripple the already distressed industry. "We are hopeful that at the end of the day, our intervention would provide opportunity for all the parties to reach a common ground that will move the aviation industry forward."

TUESDAY, ÍťË&#x153; ÍşÍ¸ÍşÍ¸ Ëž T H I S D AY

NEWS

NCC Approves e-SIM Trial for MTN, 9Mobile Emma Okonji The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has granted approval for two mobile network operators, MTN Nigeria and 9Mobile, to carry out trials on the workability of embedded Subscriber Identification Modules (SIM) service in Nigeria. It said yesterday that the trials, approved to run for one year, would involve testing 5, 000 e-SIMs by the two networks, subject to compliance with some regulatory conditions. In a statement in Abuja by the Director, Public Affairs, NCC, Mr. Ikechukwu Adinde, NCC outlined the conditions to include full compliance by the MNOs with the Registration of Telecoms Subscribers Regulations 2011. Others include the Mobile Number Portability Regulations and Business Rules 2015; Guidelines on SIM Replacement 2017; and non-degradation of the Quality of Service experience by users of e-SIMs. The commissionâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Executive Vice Chairman, Prof. Umar

Danbatta, said the primary objective of the e-SIM trial was to assess the technical performance of the e-SIM on telecoms service providersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; network towards eventual roll-out, if satisfactory. An e-SIM is a small chip that is embedded on a mobile phone or smart device. It is designed for convenience, flexibility, and simplicity. The e-SIM makes it easier for subscribers to choose a pre-paid plan provider and switch between network operators, using the same SIM. The information on the e-SIM is rewritable by operators and the identification information can be updated over time. Danbatta said the technology would eliminate the need for physical SIM card slots on mobile devices in the future. He said the trial was in line with the commissionâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s regulatory approach to ensure Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s telecoms ecosystem is in tandem with global best practices. Danbatta said: "The primary objective of the e-SIM trial is to assess the technical performance of the e-SIM on telecoms service

providersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; network towards eventual roll-out, if satisfactory. "The e-SIM is a technology

that will eliminate the need for physical SIM card slots on mobile devices in the near

future and the trial is in line with the commissionâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s forwardlooking regulatory approach

to ensure Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s telecoms ecosystem is in tandem with global best practices."

APPRECIATING A GOVERNOR... Osun State civil servants on a thank-you-walk for Governor Adegboyega Oyetola for implementing minimum wage and lifting embargo on salary increment among other welfare packages in Osogboâ&#x20AC;Śyesterday

FG Raises Committee to Address Delay in Salary Payments Olawale Ajimotokan in Abuja The federal government has set up a committee to address the problem of fund shortage that has stalled the payment of October salaries to workers in ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs). However, it assured them that steps have been taken to resolve the matter and the salaries might be paid this week. The Head of Civil Service of the Federation (HoS), Dr. Folasade Yemi-Esan, in a statement

yesterday, said a committee made up of representatives of the Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning, the Budget Office and the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation had been set up to determine the shortfalls of MDAs. According to her, the shortfalls are to be paid from the lump sum already set aside in the budget for the minimum wage and its consequential adjustment. The committee is expected to conclude its work by the end of this week so that salaries can

be paid. While appreciating civil servants for their patience, the HoS stated that she is in touch with the Director-General, Budget Office, who assured her that salaries will be paid by the end of this week. Earlier in another statement by the Director of Information, Office of Head of Service of the Federation, Mrs. Olawunmi Ogunmosunle, Yemi-Esan had attributed the salary delay to the fact that the 2020 budget was passed before the

conclusion of negotiations on the new minimum wage and its consequential adjustment. She added that a lump sum was, however, provided in 2020 budget for minimum wage and its consequential adjustment. The HoS' clarification followed a report of outcry in the civil service that prompted some workers from MDAs to storm her office yesterday to protest the delay in the payment of salaries for October. The statement, however, dismissed the report of protest

by aggrieved workers. It also said the committee that was constituted was at the behest of the Budget Office, tasking each MDA to work out what was needed to take care of the increase for the money to be paid from what was set aside for 2020 based on past provisions that were exhausted. â&#x20AC;&#x153;First, let me start by stating that there is (was) no protest in the HoS office. Secondly, let me explain the delay in payment of salaries for October. Enough provision was made for salaries

for the year 2020 based on past provisions. Some percentage of the allowance was also set aside to take care of the salary increase. The provision made based on the previous salary has been exhausted. The Budget Office has therefore called on each MDA to work out what is needed to take care of the increase for the money to be paid from what was set aside. The committee is working on it. It is expected that it will be concluded this week and salaries will be paid,â&#x20AC;? the statement said.

Wâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Bank Projects $2bn Drop in Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Diaspora Remittances FG rakes in N424.71bn from VAT in Q3 Obinna Chima in Lagos and James Emejo in Abuja The World Bank has predicted that inflow of Diaspora remittance to Nigeria will drop by $2 billion in 2020 to $21.7 billion as against the $23.8 billion the country recorded in 2019. The World Bank in a report hinged the decline in remittances from Nigerians living abroad on an account of the double whammy of the COVID-19 pandemic and the attendant economic crisis that has continued to spread. However, another report from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed that the federal government generated a total sum of N424.71 billion from Value Added Tax (VAT) in the third quarter of the year (Q3 2020) compared to N327.20 billion in Q2 as well as N275.12 billion in Q3 2019. Globally, the bank also anticipated that the amount of money migrant workers send home would decline by 14 per cent by 2021, compared to the pre-COVID-19 levels in 2019. The Washington-based institution stated this in the 40-page, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Migration and Development Brief 33,â&#x20AC;&#x2122; it released yesterday. It stated: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Remittances are helping to address the impact on African households. Nigeria remains the largest recipient of remittances in the region and is the seventh largest recipient among LMICs, with projected

remittances to decline to around $21.7 billion, a more than $2 billion drop compared with 2019.â&#x20AC;? According to the report, remittance flows to low and middle-income countries (LMICs) are also projected to fall by seven per cent to $508 billion in 2020, followed by a further decline of 7.5 per cent, to $470 billion in 2021. It stated that the foremost factors driving the decline in remittances included weak economic growth and employment levels in migranthosting countries, weak oil prices; and depreciation of the currencies of remittance-source countries against the US dollar. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The impact of COVID-19 is pervasive when viewed through a migration lens as it affects migrants and their families who rely on remittances,â&#x20AC;? Vice President for Human Development and Chair of the Migration Steering Group of the World Bank, Mamta Murthi said. He added: â&#x20AC;&#x153;The World Bank will continue working with partners and countries to keep the remittance lifelines flowing and to help sustain human capital development.â&#x20AC;? The report said the anticipated decline in 2020 and 2021 would affect all regions, with the steepest drop expected in Europe and Central Asia (by 16 per cent and eight per cent respectively), and followed by East Asia and the Pacific (11 per cent and four per cent), the Middle East and North

Africa (eight per cent and eight per cent), Sub-Saharan Africa (nine per cent and six per cent), South Asia (four per cent and 11 per cent) and Latin America and the Caribbean (0.2 per cent and eight per cent). â&#x20AC;&#x153;The importance of remittances as a source of external financing for LMICs is expected to amplify in 2020, even with the expected decline. Remittance flows to LMICs touched a record high of $548 billion in 2019, larger than foreign direct investment flows ($534 billion) and overseas development assistance (about $166 billion). The gap between remittance flows and FDI is expected to widen further as FDI is expected to decline more sharply. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Migrants are suffering greater health risks and unemployment during this crisis,â&#x20AC;? lead author of the brief and Head of Global Knowledge Partnership on Migration and Development (KNOMAD), Dilip Ratha, said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The underlying fundamentals driving remittances are weak and this is not the time to take our eyes off the downside risks to the remittance lifelines,â&#x20AC;? he stated. The report said: â&#x20AC;&#x153;This year, for the first time in recent history, the stock of international migrants is likely to decline as new migration has slowed and return migration has increased. Return migration has been reported in all parts of the world following the lifting of national lockdowns which left

many migrant workers stranded in host countries. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Rising unemployment in the face of tighter visa restrictions on migrants and refugees is likely to result in a further increase in return migration. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Despite being the cheapest, money transfer and mobile operators face increasing hurdles as banks close their accounts to reduce the risk of non-compliance with anti-money laundering (AML) and combating terrorism financing (CFT) standards. â&#x20AC;&#x153;To keep these channels open, especially for lower-income migrants, AML/CFT rules could be temporarily simplified for small remittances.â&#x20AC;? It said strengthening mobile money regulations and identity systems will improve the transparency of transactions, explaining that facilitating digital remittances would require improving access to bank accounts for mobile remittance service providers as well as senders and recipients of remittances. It added: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Remittances to Sub-Saharan Africa are expected to decline by around nine per cent in 2020 to $44 billion. Within the region, remittances to Kenya have so far stayed positive, though flows are likely to eventually decline in 2021. All major remittance-receiving countries will likely see a decline of remittances. â&#x20AC;&#x153;As the COVID-19 pandemic affects both destination and origin countries of Sub-Saharan

migrants, the fall in remittances is expected to further lead to an increase in food insecurity and poverty. "Remittance costs: Sending $200 remittances to the region cost on average 8.5 per cent in the third quarter of 2020, representing a modest decrease compared with nine per cent a year ago. Sub-Saharan Africa is the costliest region to send remittances to,â&#x20AC;? the report said.

FG Rakes in N424.71bn from VAT in Q3 The federal government has generated a total sum of N424.71 billion from VAT in the third quarter of the year (Q3 2020) compared to N327.20 billion in Q2 as well as N275.12 billion in Q3 2019. According to the sectoral distribution of VAT data for Q3 2020, which was released yesterday by the NBS, the figure represented a 29.80 per cent or N97.51 billion increase in VAT collection month-on-month and 54.37 per cent or N149.59 billion increase year-on-year. Other manufacturing generated the highest amount of VAT with N47.07 billion and closely followed by professional services, which posted N44.01 billion as well as commercial and trading that recorded N21.18 billion. Mining generated the least, closely followed by textile and garment industry and

pharmaceutical, soaps and toiletries with N64.50 million, N346.27 million and N386.16 million, respectively. According to the NBS, out of the total amount generated in Q3 2020, N214.66 billion was generated as non-import VAT locally while N115.34 billion represented non-import VAT for foreign. The balance of N94.70 billion was generated as Nigeria Customs Service (NCS)-import VAT. According to the report, revenue from banks and financial institutions during the period under review totalled N6.87 billion; breweries, bottling and beverages N15.83 billion; hotels and catering N2.14 billion and federal ministries and parastatals N6.37 billion. Others are state ministries and parastatals, N19.64 billion; properties and investments, N1.07 billion; transport and haulage services, N11.86 billion and gas N1.12 billion. Other contributors to VAT included local government councils N567.97 million; pioneering N1.13 billion; oilproducing N11.54 billion; oil marketing N3.08 billion and conglomerates N1.74 billion. Agriculture and plantation contributed N1.01 billion to VAT, automobiles and assemblies N8,8.34 million; building and construction N2.93 billion, offshore operations N1.41 billion and publishing, printing, paper packaging N473.09 million.

TUESDAY NOVEMBER 3, 2020 â&#x20AC;¢ T H I S D AY

TUESDAY, ÍťË&#x153; ÍşÍ¸ÍşÍ¸ Ëž T H I S D AY

PAGE EIGHT

EFCC Grills Ex-FIRS Boss, Fowler Re-arraigns Suswam, Okolobia over alleged N3.1bn fraud Kingsley Nwezeh in Abuja Former Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Mr. Babatunde Fowler, was yesterday grilled by investigators at the Lagos office of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). This is coming as the commission has re-arraigned a former Governor of Benue State, Senator Gabriel Suswam, alongside his former state Commissioner for Finance, Mr. Omodachi Okolobia, before Justice Ahmed Mohammed of the Federal High Court Abuja for fraud. Spokesman of the EFCC, Mr. Wilson Uwujaren, said Fowler was at the EFCC office on the invitation of

the commission. He said the former FIRS boss was under investigation but could not provide details. "The truth is that he came on the invitation of the commission. "There is an ongoing investigation but we can't go into details. "He is in our Lagos office," he said. The EFCC also yesterday said it had re-arraigned Suswam, now Chairman of Senate Committee on Power, alongside Okolobia before Justice Mohammed for fraud. Both were on trial on an amended 11-count charge bordering on theft, criminal breach of trust, illegal award of contracts and money laundering to the tune of

N3.1 billion. One of the charges reads: â&#x20AC;&#x153;That you Gabriel Torwua Suswam and Omodachi Okolobia, while being Benue State governor and Commissioner of Finance in Benue State respectively, between August 8 and October 30, 2014, in Abuja, within the jurisdiction of this honourable court did procure Elixir Securities Limited and Elixir Investment Partners Limited to transfer an aggregate sum N3, 111,008,018.51 belonging to the Benue State Government to the account of Abubakar Umar (trading under the name and style of Fanffash Resources) who has no contractual relationship with Benue State Government, which sum you reasonably

ought to have known to be the proceeds of unlawful activity to wit: theft and criminal breach of trust, and which sum forms part of the sum of N9,411,708,009.51k realised from the sales of shares owned by Benue State Government and Benue Investment and Properties Company Limited and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 15 (2) (b) and 18(c) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act 2011 as amended in 2012 and punishable under Section(15) (3) of the same Act.â&#x20AC;? The duo pleaded not guilty to the charges. Yesterdayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s arraignment of the defendants followed the appeal courtâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ruling that the trial of the defendants should be reverted back to

Justice Mohammedâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s court from that of Justice Okon Abang, whom the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court had reassigned the case to after the defendants alleged prejudice against them by Justice Mohammed. With the return of the case to the first trial judge, prosecution counsel, Mr. Adewale Atolagbe, yesterday urged the court to direct all counsel on the matter to work with the courtâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s registry for the relisting of the exhibits that were already presented in the court before the transfer and for all exhibits not earlier presented to be withdrawn and returned to the prosecution. In objecting to the application, Suswamâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s counsel, Mr. Adedeji Adedayo,

told the court that the appeal court directed that the case file be returned to court and not to the custody of the prosecution, adding that the sorting of the documents could be done by the registry of the court or exhibit keepers. Also, Okolobiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s counsel, Mr. Audu Anuga, said it was not the business of the defence to help regularise issues pertaining to evidence the prosecution hopes to tender. Justice Mohammed directed the court registry to go through the records and sought out the exhibits admitted by the court and to make sure that they are marked accordingly. He adjourned the matter till December 15 for the continuation of trial.

for an amicable resolution of the issues to enable students to resume their studies. The Northern leaders called for engagement with other critical stakeholders such as religious leaders, the business community, and youth leaders, resolving to set up two major engagement committees - namely Committee on Roles of Traditional Rulers Membership, headed by the Emir of Lafia, Alhaji Sidi Muhammad, and Committee on Youth and Civil Societies headed by the Emir of Zazzau (Zaria), Alhaji Nuhu Bamalli, which are to commence work immediately.

While commending the role of religious leaders, including the Ulamas, the Jamaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;atu Nasril Islam (JNI ) and the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), for their positive interventions in resolving the #EndSARS conflicts, the leaders called for collective efforts in addressing the lingering challenges of the North, especially the Almajiri system, insecurity, illiteracy, poverty, and others." They commended the efforts of NSGF in taking proactive measures to address the #EndSARS protests in the country, particularly in the North.

Also at the meeting were the President of the Senate, Dr. Ahmad Lawan; the Deputy Speaker House of Representatives, Hon. Idris Wase; and the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Mr. Boss Mustapha. Others were the Minister of Information and Culture, Mr. Lai Mohammed; Chief of Staff to the President, Prof. Ibrahim Gambari; and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister, Mallam Mohammad Bello, as well as the Northern States Traditional Rulers Council led by the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Saâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ad Abubakar III.

â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;â&#x20AC;&#x2122;Again, based on humanitarian grounds, Nigeria cannot reject the request to rescue a US citizen in our country. More so, when there are no military installations in the area that was targeted that will be damaged. â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;â&#x20AC;&#x2122;We were also assured by the US in its letter to the president that the entire operation will not last more than 12 hours," the source added. While the US rescue team was commended for an efficient and successful rescue mission, the source said Nigeria has a lot to learn from the operation, adding that the mission was made possible because of super US military equipment like Night Vigil Helicopter that operates without sound and with powerful night flying facilities. â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;â&#x20AC;&#x2122;We commended the US

for the operation; and we have a lot to learn from them. But let it be on record that Nigeria intelligence community provided the intelligence operation that led to the success of the operation,â&#x20AC;&#x2122;â&#x20AC;&#x2122; the source stated. According to him, with increasing deadly activities of terrorists across the world, the way to go is to invest hugely in security equipment for effective operation, when the need arises.

NORTHERN LEADERS BACK FG'S QUEST TO CENSOR SOCIAL MEDIA â&#x20AC;&#x153;the devastating effect of the social media in spreading fake news,â&#x20AC;? calling for â&#x20AC;&#x153;control mechanism and censorship of the social media practice in Nigeria.â&#x20AC;? The communiquĂŠ, read by Lalong, condemned what it described as â&#x20AC;&#x153;the subversive actions of the #EndSARS change protestâ&#x20AC;? and declared support for a united and indivisible Nigeria. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The meeting rejects and condemns the subversive actions of the #EndSARS change protest,â&#x20AC;? it said, adding: â&#x20AC;&#x153;The superlative agitations and other changeregime actions outside the

ballot box soon take advantage of the peaceful protests to push for their separatist agenda. The meeting, according to the communique, endorsed the indivisibility, indissolubility and oneness of Nigeria and applauded the major reforms going on in the police force even as it pledged to support President Muhammadu Buhari to succeed. It also drew attention to the need to protect the FCT against unwarranted and destructive protests. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The meeting raises attention on the need to keep a strict watch on the Federal Capital Territory to

guide against unwarranted and destructive protests to safeguard critical assets of the nation,â&#x20AC;? it said. The leaders said they had resolved to support the police to serve the country better and called for the building of trust between the people and the police. They commended the National Assembly and the presidency for being proactive in addressing the issues raised by the #EndSARS protesters across the country. They also expressed concern over the lingering strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) and called

DIPLOMAT REVEALS NIGERIAâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S ROLE IN AMERICAN HOSTAGEâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S RESCUE the rescue of the American hostage. The PDP fired the first salvo, saying that the rescue mission confirmed that President Muhammadu Buhari can neither secure the territorial integrity of the nation nor arrest the insecurity ravaging the country. But the APC fired back, accusing the PDP of playing politics with the countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s security. There have been insinuations about Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s role in the rescue mission, amidst several media reports quoting President Donald Trump and the Pentagon as saying that the CIA provided the intelligence leading to Waltonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s whereabouts while Marine Special Operations elements in Africa helped to locate him. According to the reports, the elite SEAL Team Six carried out a â&#x20AC;&#x153;precisionâ&#x20AC;? hostage rescue

mission and killed all but one of the seven captors. Trump had called the rescue mission a â&#x20AC;&#x153;big win for our very elite U.S. Special Forcesâ&#x20AC;? in a tweet and the Pentagon lauded the rescue mission in a statement. During a rally in Pennsylvania, Trump praised the military for what he called a "brilliantly executed" operation. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Last night, our brave special forces rescued an American hostage," he said as the crowd applauded and chanted "USA." However, a top official in the intelligence community yesterday gave an insider's account on how the rescue mission was executed. He confided in THISDAY that as soon as Walton was abducted in Niger Republic, and the captors called the victimâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s father, the Nigerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s

external security agency chief was said to have called his Nigeria counterpart, informing him that the phone numbers the captors used were Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s. The source said: â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;â&#x20AC;&#x2122;As soon as we got that information, we quickly tracked the phone numbers and we discovered that the abductors were in a parcel of land owned by one Mallam Abubakar in Illela Local Government Area in Sokoto State. â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;â&#x20AC;&#x2122;Nigeria and Niger were working on this information when on October 28, 2020, the US government wrote the federal government through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, requesting the permission of President Muhammadu Buhari to carry out the rescue mission.â&#x20AC;&#x2122;â&#x20AC;&#x2122; Security chiefs, including top military officers, were said to have met, reviewed the USâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;

letter and advised Buhari on the way to go. Based on the recommendation by the intelligence chiefs, the president was said to have given explicit approval to the USâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; request, after their officials, along with Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s security chiefs and some senior staff of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs met with his Chief of Staff, Prof. Ibrahim Gambari, in Abuja. Explaining the reasons for the presidentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s approval, the intelligence chief told THISDAY that even though Nigeria doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have a â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;â&#x20AC;&#x2122;military pactâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;â&#x20AC;&#x2122; with the US, a military alliance in which both countries promise to support each other militarily and to defend each other, Nigeria is currently fighting terrorism and requires all the assistance of the global community, including the US.

WTO OFFICIALS MULL DELAY IN OKONJO-IWEALAâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S FATE OVER COVID-19 SCARE WTO spokesman, Keith Rockwell, did not immediately respond to Bloombergâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s requests for comment. On October 28, Washington had said it would oppose her bid because the United States preferred Myung-hee for the job. Myung-hee has refused to withdraw from the race and has not responded to Bloombergâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s multiple requests for comment. The US unilaterally opposed Okonjo-Iweala despite the fact that the WTO selection committee determined she, â&#x20AC;&#x153;clearly carried the largest support by membersâ&#x20AC;? and

â&#x20AC;&#x153;clearly enjoyed broad support from members from all levels of development and from all geographic regions.â&#x20AC;? The US move has disrupted the leadership race because all WTO decisions are made by a consensus of its 164 members, which means a single country in this case, the US - can oppose a decision for any reason. The office of the US Trade Representative, Robert Lighthizer, recently provided some clarity as to why he opposed Okonjo-Iweala and what the administrationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ultimate goal is in blocking her appointment. The WTO had in a recent

statement stressed that its members indicated â&#x20AC;&#x153;strong preference for Ngozi OkonjoIweala as DG.â&#x20AC;? The WTO General Council Chair, Ambassador David Walker, had explained: â&#x20AC;&#x153;She (Okonjo-Iweala) clearly carried the largest support by members in the final round and she clearly enjoyed broad support from members from all levels of development and all geographic regions and has done so throughout the process.â&#x20AC;? Owing to this, Walker said he submitted the name of Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala as the candidate most likely to attract

consensus and recommended her appointment by the General Council as the next director-general of the WTO until August 31, 2024. The General Council is the WTOâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s pre-eminent decision-making body, save for the Ministerial Conference, which normally meets every two years. Nevertheless, the WTO leadership race now hinges on the outcome of todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s US presidential election. Some trade officials said if Trump loses the election, as many polls are indicating, the WTOâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s selection process could wait until after Joe Biden is

inaugurated. Some trade delegates told Bloomberg they would find a more constructive partner in Biden whose advisers have advocated for greater engagement with US allies and to strengthen multilateral institutions like the WTO. But the WTO selection process may not move quickly even if Biden is elected. Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s because he wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t be inaugurated until January 20, 2021, and crucial domestic priorities such as delivering a financial stimulus package and stopping the spread of COVID-19 will take priority over WTO matters.

TOP GAINERS LIVESTOCK DANGSUGAR NPFMFB REGENCY ROYALEXCH TOP LOSERS C & I LEASING FCMB ETI

NGN NGN % 0.08 0.89 9.8 1.35 15.15 9.7 0.15 1.70 9.6 0.02 0.24 9.0 0.02 0.25 8.7 NGN % 0.44 3.96 10 0.31 2.82 9.9 0.50 5.15 8.8 OANDO 0.18 2.57 6.5 INTERBREW 0.37 7.00 5.0 HPE Nestle Nig Plc â&#x201A;Ś1,421.70 Volume: 376.653 million shares Value: N3.802 billion Deals: 6,050 As at yesterday 2/11/2020 See details on Page 29

TUESDAY NOVEMBER 3,2020 ˾ T H I S D AY

NEWS

Malami: It’s Unclear who Shot Protesters in Lagos Says new guidelines will accelerate decongestion of correctional centres Ejiofor Alike in Lagos and Alex Enumah in Abuja with agency reports The Attorney General of the Federation and the Minister of Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami, has declared that “hoodlums” wearing military uniforms may have shot Nigerian protesters campaigning against police brutality in Lagos, adding that it was too soon to tell if soldiers were involved. Malami has also said that the Consolidated Federal Capital Territory Courts Sentencing Guidelines and Practice will accelerate decongestion of Correctional Centres nationwide. EndSARS demonstrations across the country turned violent on October 20 when witnesses in Lagos said the military opened fire on peaceful protesters in the Lekki district shortly after local authorities imposed a 24-hour curfew, drawing international condemnation.

Soldiers and police killed at least 12 people in two Lagos neighbourhoods on October 20, according to witnesses and rights group, Amnesty International. The army and police have denied involvement. Reuters quoted Malami as telling reporters in Abuja yesterday, that the matter was being investigated and there was a need to establish whether the shooting took place, who was responsible and whether the people who were shooting were part of the military. “You cannot rule out the possibility of perhaps hoodlums that set in to create a scene... could equally partake in the process,” Malami said at the news conference, which was also attended by government officials including the defence minister and finance minister. He also said it was “preemptive” to conclude that there had even been a shooting.

Boko Haram Kills 11, Abducts Nine Women in Borno Michael Olugbode inMaiduguri Nine women were reportedly abducted by suspected Boko Haram insurgents in the attack on Takulashi village of Chibok Local Government Area of Borno State. Details of the attack on the remote village, which were received yesterday further revealed that eleven persons were feared killed in the attack as against the seven members of the Civilian Joint Task earlier reported to have been killed in the Sunday’s siege. Some residents of the village had told THISDAY in the early report that seven members of the CJTF and local hunters who were part of the group that engaged the insurgents were killed. Also in the early report, foodstuffs and livestock were said to have been carted away by the terrorist group who also abducted yet-to-be ascertained number of people, male and

female. It was also gathered that the engagement of the insurgents and vigilantes was on for over an hour. Some of the residents of the village who spoke to journalists yesterday, said 11 men were killed in the siege. They alleged that the insurgents attacked mourners in Takulashi village, barely 15 kilometres to the local government headquarters in Chibok town. The villagers said the insurgents opened fire on the mourners targeting and killing 11 men, after which they picked out and abducted women that met their fancy. The villagers said there was no military or police presence, adding that the vigilantes and the unarmed villagers were left at the mercy of better armed criminals. Messages sent to both military or police authorities were not responded to as at the time of filing the report.

Obaseki Begs Policemen to Resume Work Adibe Emenyonu in Benin City

The Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, yesterday, pleaded with the state Commissioner of Police, Johnson Babatunde Kokumo to allow officers and men of his command to return to their duty posts and make their presence visible to secure lives and property of the citizens of the state. The governor made the appeal yesterday, when he paid a solidarity visit to the command in the aftermath of the #EndSARS protest that led to the destruction of lives and property, including the burning down of the police stations in the state. Obaseki said their absence on the roads and some conspicuous places in the state could easily be interpreted by the hoodlums who hijacked the good intentions of the

#EndSARS protest as weakness and cowardice on the part of the police, adding that the police should do everything within their powers to quickly correct that wrong impression. He said the government and people of Edo State are solidly behind the police command and to give them the needed support and encouragement that they needed to move on and get rid of all the criminal elements in the state. The governor said as part of his concern and sharing in their plights, he has ordered for patrol vans to be supplied and given to the police to aid their operations in the state, while the medical bills of the injured officers would also be taken care of by the government just as he said he would rebuild the burnt police stations.

Lagos state has ordered an investigation into the incident. Last week the military said the Lagos state government asked the army to intervene to restore order, but soldiers did not shoot civilians. Meanwhile, Malami has said that the Consolidated Federal Capital Territory Courts Sentencing Guidelines and Practice will accelerate decongestion of Correctional Centres nationwide. Malami, while commending

the introduction of non-custodial sentencing by the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA), 2015, said the recent provision of a clear legislative and institutional framework for the implementation of the ACJA by the Nigerian Correctional Service Act, 2019, were efforts by the Federal Government at addressing the colossal problem of congestion in correctional facilities in Nigeria. The AGF spoke at the

signing of the Consolidated Federal Capital Territory Courts (Custodial and Non – Custodial Sentencing) Practice Directions, 2020 at the headquarters of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court, Abuja. He said: “The provision for non-custodial sentences such as probation, community service, restitution, compensation and suspended sentence by the ACJA 2015, was one of the main innovations of the Act”.

In his remarks, Chief Judge of the FCT High Court, Justice Ishaq Bello, said the signing of the sentencing guideline is a milestone achievement in the FCT Judiciary because lack of sentencing guideline in the past has led to misconception with the court often being accused of either being unduly lenient or of playing to the gallery by imposing severe punishment upon conviction especially in cases of public interest.

HONOURING GOD...

L-R: General Overseer, Redeemed Christian Church of God, Pastor Enoch Adeboye; former President Goodluck Jonathan; and Governor of Bayelsa State, Senator Douye Diri, during the ninth Bayelsa Thanksgiving Day at the Ecumenical Centre in Igbogene near Yenagoa... yesterday

WAEC Releases 2020 SSCE Results, 65.24% Obtain Credits in English, Mathematics Funmi Ogundare The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has released the results of the 2020 Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination (SSSCE). WAEC’s Head of the National Office, Mr. Patrick Areghan, said a total of 1,549,740 registered for the examination. Areghan said 1,338,348 candidates representing 86.99 per cent obtained credit and above in a minimum of any five

subjects – with or without English Language and/or Mathematics. He said 1,003,668 candidates representing 65.24 per cent obtained credits and above in a minimum of five subjects, including English Language and Mathematics. To check the results, candidates were asked to visit the website of WAEC. A statement from WAEC quoted Areghan as saying that the results of 215,149 candidates, representing 13.98 per cent of the

total number of candidates that sat the examination, are being withheld. He said, “A total of 1,549,740 candidates registered for the examination from 19,129 recognised secondary schools in Nigeria. Of the number that registered for the examination, 1,538,445 candidates sat the examination. “The examination was also administered to candidates from some schools in Benin Republic, Ivory Coast, and

Equatorial Guinea where the Nigeria curriculum for Senior Secondary School is being used. “The results of 215,149 candidates, representing 13.98 per cent of the total number of candidates that sat the examination, are being withheld in connection with various reported cases of examination malpractice. “The cases are being investigated and reports of the investigations will be presented to the appropriate Committee of the Council for determination in due course.”

Egypt to Deport Seven #EndSARS Protesters, Says Dabiri-Erewa Chairman of Nigerians in Diaspora Commission, Mrs. Abike Dabiri-Erewa, has said that seven Nigerians who participated in the #EndSARS protest in Egypt have been slated for deportation. She said this in a series of tweets yesterday. Eight Nigerians were arrested in Cairo, Egypt for protesting against police brutality, extra-judicial killings, and bad governance in their country.

After their arrest, many Nigerians appealed to NIDCOM to intervene and ensure the release of the Nigerians. While giving an update yesterday, Dabiri said seven of those detained are to be deported for “lack of resident permits”. She explained that the federal government is pleading for leniency on behalf of the seven Nigerians slated for deportation. She tweeted, “Update on

the eight Nigerians detained in Cairo for protesting without a permit – Seven of them are to be deported to Nigeria for lack of resident permits. The only one that has a Residency will get final clearance from the Minister of Interior after signing an undertaking not go against the laws of Egypt. “The Nigerian mission in Egypt is still appealing for leniency on behalf of the seven slated for

deportation.” Dabiri had denied the Nigerian government involvement in the Nigerians’ arrest. She explained that the Nigerians were not arrested at the Nigerian Embassy but at another location. She had said, “The Nigerian mission in Cairo has had extensive deliberations with the Cairo ministry of Foreign Affairs, Interior as well as the Diplomatic Police.

NECO Examinations Resume Monday Kuni Tyessi in Abuja and Dipo Laleye in Minna The National Examinations Council (NECO) has announced that the suspended 2020 Senior School Certificate Examinations (SSCE) will resume nationwide on Monday. The examinations were temporarily suspended following the #EndSARS protests, which disrupted movement of materials nationwide.

Head of Information and Public Relations Division, NECO, Mr. Azeez Sani disclosed this in a statement issued yesterday in Abuja. The statement reads: “The National Examinations Council (NECO) wishes to inform candidates, schools and other stakeholders of the resumption of the 2020 Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE) in all states and the FCT from Monday, November 9, 2020. “The council was constrained to postpone the examinations indefinitely

on Monday, October 25, 2020 due to security challenges occasioned by the ENDSARS protests, which disrupted the smooth conduct of the examinations in some parts of the country. “Following the return of normalcy in the states and FCT, the examinations will now continue with a new TimeTable from Monday, November 9, 2020 to Saturday, November 28, 2020. “This new timetable will be made available to the general

public, schools and candidates from Wednesday, November 4, 2020. The timetable can also be seamlessly downloaded from the NECO official website. “The council thanks the general public and candidates for their patience and understanding during the period the SSCE was suspended. NECO assures the general public of quality service in the discharge of her statutory responsibilities at all times.”

TUESDAY NOVEMBER 3, 2020 ˾ T H I S D AY

NEWS

Sanctions: Nigerian Editors Call for Review of NBC Act Seek prompt passage of electoral law Demand transparency in EndSARS protests probe EmmanuelAddehinAbuja The Standing Committee of the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE) has called for an expedited review of the Nigerian Broadcasting Commission (NBC) act, arguing that the rules guiding the operations of the media

regulatory agency must now reflect current realities in the industry. NGE’s demand for a rejig of the law setting up the body followed the sanctions slammed on Arise TV, Channels and AIT as a result of the broadcast stations’ coverage of the EndSARS protests,

Malami Urged to Obey Court Order on EFCC, ICPC Powers Nigeria’s leading anti-corruption group, Human and Environmental Development Agenda, (HEDA Resource Centre), has urged the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Abubakar Mallam, to obey subsisting court order that scrapped the Asset Tracing and Management Regulations put in place by the minister. The regulation was put in place in 2019 to checkmate anti-graft agencies in the management of recovered assets and proceeds of crime. However, few months ago, a Federal High Court declared the regulation null and void. HEDA Resource Centre said in a statement that the minister has the legal obligation to scrap the regulation. It said the rule undermines optimum performance of key anti-corruption institutions, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, (ICPC). The statement signed by the group’s Chairman, Mr. Olanrewaju Suraju, asked the minister to set aside the rule. HEDA said recent judgment of a Federal High Court confirms public fears that the regulation will not promote transparency in Nigeria. The learned judge had said “in my view, these provisions

are clear as to the powers of the applicant, the EFCC to commence this action. Consequently, I consider and hold that paragraph 5 of the assets tracing and management regulations 2019 are good for being inconsistent with Section 17 (1) of the advance fee fraud and other fraud related offences”. The judge said relying on the asset tracing recovery and management regulations 2019 was wrong. He submitted that the EFCC is a distinct office from that of the Attorney General of the Federation. This action is therefore predicated on a faulty pedestal. “We make bold to state that these Regulation trespasses into the scope of powers vested in National Assembly and amounts to disregarding the supremacy of the Ground Norm. The powers as stated in the Commencement Clause of the Regulations cannot override the powers vested in the LEAs and ACAs being Acts of the National Assembly. Assets Tracing, Recovery and Management Regulations, 2019 is merely a duplicity of laws and adds no solution, harmony or progress but further rigidity and dilemma to the implementation of the functions of the LEAs and the ACAs by prescribing sanctions for non-compliance as seen in Section 14 of the Assets Tracing, Recovery and Management Regulations, 2019.

NMA Decries Looting of Health Facilities Says resurgence of diseases likely Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja The Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) has stated that the wanton destruction of hospital facilities by hoodlums who hijacked the #EndSARS protests is capable of endangering the health of Nigerians and have irredeemable negative impact on the health system. The association said one of the immediate effects of “this unbecoming behaviour of the hoodlums” is the danger the public is exposed to. It also noted that improper handling of drugs and vaccines may have long life effects not only on human beings but also on the environment In a statement jointly signed by NMA President, Dr. Innocent AO Ujah, and Secretary-General, Dr. Philips Uche Ekpe, the body said it was painfully disturbed by the violent turn of events as hoodlums seeking COVID-19 palliatives attacked health facilities ranging from burning down hospitals and clinics to looting and vandalising

medical and hospital supplies, consumables and vaccines. “The NMA as the umbrella body of Nigerian doctors and leader of the health team condemns in an unequivocal terms this barbaric, primitive and wanton destruction of hospital facilities that is capable of endangering the health of Nigerians and have an irredeemable negative impact on the health system. “The unfortunate action of the hoodlums will further weaken the delivery of health services as Nigeria continues to fight the COVID-19 pandemic in an already near-comatose health system, and will certainly be a setback on our country’s desire to achieve the Universal Health Coverage (UHC) and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs),” the association said. NMA urged those who are in custody of these medicaments and hospital equipment to return them either to be used or destroyed professionally because some of the medicaments can be very harmful to the human body.

which the commission said was “unprofessional”. The body of senior journalists also demanded what it termed “absolute transparency” in the judicial probe panels being set up by various state governments on the EndSARS protests, saying that any attempt at cover-up will be unacceptable. In a communiqué signed by its President, Mustapha Isah and General Secretary, Mary Atolagbe, after a meeting in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, the NGE further called for the speedy passage of the electoral act to enhance fairness in the country’s

electoral processes. “Inasmuch as the guild respects the disciplinary mandate of the Nigerian Broadcasting Commission (NBC) over broadcasting stations’ operations, it also implores the government to always take a second look at perceived infractions by some stations before applying sanctions. Fines should be the last resort. “The guild therefore, calls for an immediate review of the NBC Act, in view of current realities in the media world. We know the government is already working on this but, this action must be expedited in the interest of

professionalism, fairness and justice,” the NGE stated. It stated that having examined the recent unrest across the nation in the past few weeks, it was apt to condemn the hijack of the peaceful protests by hoodlums in many states, insisting that the five-point demands of the peaceful protesters were genuine and patriotic. While condemning the hijack of the demonstrations which it said led to arson, looting, destruction and bestial killings of law-abiding citizens and security agents which portrayed Nigeria

in a bad light, the organisation flayed the government for the display of aggression against peaceful protesters, especially at the Lekki Tollgate. According to the NGE, the attack on the media and journalists during the crisis, whereby scores of vehicles were burnt at the premises of several of them, namely Television Continental (TVC) Lagos, The Nation Newspapers in Lagos, The Chronicles in Calabar and in Lokoja where a correspondent of The Sun Newspapers was shot, is condemnable.

MORAL-BOOSTING VISIT…

L-R: Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) in charge of South-west, Leye Oyebade; Governor of Oyo State, Mr. Seyi Makinde; state Commissioner of Police, Joe Nwachukwu Enwonwu; and Special Adviser to the Governor on Security, retired Commissioner for Police (CP) Fatai Owoseni, during the governor’s visit to Oyo State Police Command, Eleyele, Ibadan…yesterday

Police Trust Fund to Intervene in Addressing Challenges of EndSARS Protests Kingsley Nwezeh in Abuja The Nigeria Police Trust Fund (NPTF) said it would intervene in any capacity when called upon to do so with regard to the wanton destruction of police infrastructure by hoodlums,who hijacked the #EndSARS protests across the country. The interventionist agency pledges its readiness to play its

role after the assessment of the damages by the committee set up by the Inspector-General of Police. Spokesperson of the fund, Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP), Olabisi Okwuobi, told THISDAY yesterday that the fund would intervene, stressing that the IG is expected to submit the report of his assessment to the Minister of Police Affairs, who would in turn

submit to the president. “We intervene when there is cause for intervention. The IG is still going round to assess the situation. He is also trying to encourage the police officers to increase their morale. “Definitely, after the findings, the IG will pass his findings to the Minister of Police Affairs, who will hand over the report to the president,” she said.

According to her, “everybody knows that the president has indicated his willingness to ensure that the damages done to police infrastructure are repaired. “We will intervene when our intervention is needed. The PTF is an interventionist agency. It’s not as if we will take over the function of government but definitely the purpose for which it is created will be carried out”.

Looting: Sanwo-Olu Promises Shop Owners Tax Relief, Support The Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has promised to assist the tenants and shop owners at the Circle Mall in Lekki to bounce back to business following the recent looting and burning of several shops and stores at the mall by hoodlums during the #EndSARS protests. Sanwo-Olu in a statement issued yesterday said the state government would give tax break and some financial assistance to

all the business owners affected by the ugly incident. “The Lagos State Government will not leave the people to bear the pains alone; the government will assist them to return to their respective businesses. “The government will give all business owners in the burnt Circle Mall a tax break of PAYE; we will also appeal to the Federal Government to ensure that they get tax relief from the Federal

Inland Revenue Service. “We will give victims of the Circle Mall financial support, which will be in the form of grants or loans to cushion the effect of the looting and destruction of their shops and stores,” the statement partly read. The governor noted that the grant support was a nonrefundable financial support to the victims, adding that the affected businesses were

not expected to pay back while the lending support would be in the form of a loan. Sanwo-Olu also asked the shop owners to reach out to the Lagos State Employment Trust Fund, urging them to make use of the opportunities being provided by the agency in assisting people who are in business, especially small scale businesses.

Fayemi Employs 600 Teachers, Warns against Mediocrity Victor Ogunje in Ado Ekiti The Governor of Ekiti State, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, has employed 600 secondary school teachers, saying all employments into the teaching service would be based on merit to prevent the recruitment of mediocre teachers. Fayemi charged teachers in the state to always display commitment to diligence, excellence and integrity in molding a ‘total child’ both in academic

and moral excellence. The governor gave the charge yesterday while flagging off a three-day induction programme for newly recruited secondary school teachers in the state. About 600 newly recruited teachers participated in the exercise which took place at St Louis Grammar School in Ikere Ekiti. They were part of the successful candidates in the recruitment exercise by the state Teaching Service Commission earlier in the year as well as those who

did conversion and transfer of service from other areas to the teaching profession. Fayemi said the process of selecting applicants was transparent, competitive and merit-based regardless of background, gender, religion, political colouration, and in some cases, state of origin. “The employment is merit-based. We won’t tolerate mediocrity in teachers because of the future of our dear state, and

to also ensure we preserve the education sector-the only thriving industry we have,” he stated. The governor told the new teachers that “our children are our future; they are our tomorrow and they are now in your hands. Whatever you make out of them is what tomorrow will be for our country. The input will determine the output, hence the need for you to make positive impact on the lives of the children.

TUESDAY NOVEMBER 3, 2020 ˾ T H I S D AY

NEWS

Nigeria in Distress, Says Secondus The National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Prince Uche Secondus, has said Nigeria is currently in distress. Secondus said this yesterday during the Bayelsa State

Thanksgiving Day celebration, held at the Ecumenical Centre, Yenagoa. The party chairman who was accompanied by some members of the PDP National Working Committee (NWC),

NNPC to Phase out Discretionary Approvals Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja The Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC),Mr. Mele Kyari, has reiterated his pledge to ensure more transparency in the corporation with the phasing out of discretionary approvals and pushing for deeper automation in the corporation’s processes. Kyari had said that computerising the company’s processes would tame corruption in the corporation and in the oil and gas industry at large. Generally, discretionary approvals involve the exercise of consent, sanction, or recommendation carried out on the basis of free will, a practice that has been largely abused by government officials. A statement issued yesterday by the Spokesman of the corporation, Dr. Kennie Obateru, said the NNPC boss spoke at the latest edition of the Bureau of Public Service Reforms (BPSR) Lunchtime Reforms Seminar, which held at the auditorium of the Federal

Ministry of Finance, Abuja. It also quoted Kyari as saying that the corporation was focused on implementing innovations that would enhance its operations and bottom-line such as increasing crude oil production and reserve. The NNPC helmsman who was represented by the corporation’s Group General Manager, Corporate Planning and Strategy, Mrs. Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan, also stated that the corporation was extending its gas footprint to stimulate industrialisation and boost local refining capacity. “The NNPC is also driving the automation of its processes as part of reforms, aimed at discouraging discretionary approvals and to further deepen the culture of transparency in the system,” Kyari pledged. In his comments, the Director General of BPSR, Dr. Dasuki Arabi, highlighted the Internal Open Resourcing (IOR) initiative of the NNPC, describing it as a veritable tool required to bridge the skills gap in both the public and civil services.

Senate Wants Probe of Alleged Diversion of N2.5bn PHCN Funds Deji Elumoye in Abuja The Senate has expressed deep concern over the alleged diversion of N2.5 billion proceeds from the defunct Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) by some officials of the Bureau of Public Enterprise (BPE). It has therefore asked its committee on Public Account to ensure a thorough investigation of the alleged diversion of the funds by BPE officials to purchase property through Aso Savings and Loans. The uncovering of the alleged misappropriation of funds by the BPE was sequel to the submission of the 2015 audit report of the Office of the Auditor General of Federation to the Senate. Chairman of the Committee,

Senator Mathew Urhogbide who was visibly angry yesterday over the reported diversion of N2.5 billion to Aso Savings and Loans, asked the representative of Director General of BPE, Mr. Ignatius Ayewoh who is the Director of Finance and General Services, specifically about who authorised the diversion. Responding, Ayewoh said BPE did not obtain any approval from Debt Management Office (DMO), adding that “we did not have approval from DMO to pay N2.5bilion from proceed of PHCN to Aso Savings and Loans”. The committee chairman thereafter demanded for list of all BPE staff that benefited from the said property, which he said should be submitted to the Committee on Wednesday.

NDDC Scholars Protest Non-payment of Fees in UK Nigerian students sponsored abroad in 2018 for further studies by the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) yesterday embarked on a fresh protest over the non-release of funds for their scholarship. The 94 scholars displayed placards with various inscriptions as they gathered in front of the Nigeria High Commission in London, United Kingdom. The dissatisfied students lamented that the non-payment of their fees have exposed them to numerous dangers including the COVID-19 virus as some of them have to work in care homes

to raise funds. “We are here to protest the non-payment of our school fees and allowance for the past two years. We have carried out a series of protests at this embassy but unfortunately, there was no positive response from the NDDC. “They said our payment will be made by October 12th after the verification exercise has been concluded. From then till now, our tuition fees and upkeep have not been paid. They keep promising us on a weekly basis. We are tired of all these fake promises,” one of the scholars, Femi, reportedly told Channels Television.

said, “Nigeria, at the moment, is in distress, and there cannot be any other occasion than to come to the House of God and face God and to thank him for what he has done, and what he will do. “Because of a truth, I believe, and my faith is very strong that God is going to do something new in Nigeria.” In his remarks at the event,

former President Goodluck Jonathan urged the political class to shun divisive politics and unite for the growth and development of the state. Jonathan said, “In Bayelsa State, the political class should know that we get into politics primarily for the interest of the state and the people of the state. “So, no matter our political

divisions, no matter the political parties, or the leanings we belong within the parties, just because of the interest of the state, we should know that we must be friends and we must unite.” Also speaking, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, who was represented by the Special Adviser to the President on Religious Matters, Seyi Malomo,

said, “Thanksgiving is ingrained in all the cultures of the people of Nigeria.” The host governor, Douye Diri, in his address said, “We should be building bridges in this state and not burning our bridges. This is not the time to continue in litigation. This is the time to build, and bring our ideas to the table.”

WORTHY HONOUR…

Lagos State Commissioner for Health, Prof. Akin Abayomi (left), and Founder, Arise Women, Dr. Siju Iluyomade, at the presentation of Arise Women Ambassador award to the commissioner in recognition of his contribution to the advancement of the health ministry in Lagos… ETOP UKUTT

Wike Denies Asking Military to Kill in Oyigbo Davidson Iriekpen Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, yesterday described the allegation that he ordered the Nigerian Army to kill Igbos in Oyigbo Local Government Area as a politically-motivated falsehood. Wike maintained that curfew was imposed in Oyigbo to restore calm after members of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) killed six soldiers, four police officers and destroyed all police stations and court buildings there. The governor gave the explanation on a live television

programmes in Port Harcourt. He said the narrative that Igbos were being killed by the military is intended to shift attention from the despicable activities of IPOB in Oyigbo, which is a boundary area adjoining Abia State. Wike said: “I know that this is not the first time, IPOB has used Oyigbo as launching ground. The security agencies are aware. IPOB added a new dimension this time. They killed six army officers and burnt one. They killed four police officers. They destroyed all the police stations and court buildings. What offense did we commit as a state?

“I imposed curfew to restore calm. I proscribed IPOB activities anywhere in the state. Don’t forget that the federal government had declared them a terrorist group. It is not the entire Igbos that believes in IPOB activities. “So, it’s not true that I order the military to kill Igbos in Oyigbo. When did I become a friend to the military? So what about the Igbos living elsewhere in the state are they also being killed?” He further said: “I have no relationship with the army or the police, I do not command them. They change commissioner of police every time. How will

I begin to direct the army that I do not give instruction”? The governor bemoaned IPOB’s effrontery to rename a local government in the state and hoist its flag in a public school in Komkom Town. “I will not fold my arms and watch criminals destroy my state, if those few criminals are Igbos then they should know that I will not allow them. They made attempt to rename a local government in my state. That alone is a signal. I will not agree to that. I know who is doing all these; who has told them to rise, protest against Wike.”

Boko Haram: NAF Denies Ignoring Rescue Call at Chibok Kingsley Nwezeh in Abuja The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) has described as baseless and unfounded, reports that it refused to respond to calls for support when Boko Haram fighters attacked Takulashi Village in Shikarkir Ward, Chibok Local Government Area of Borno State. The NAF insisted that it did not receive any call for support regarding any attack at Takulashi village. Director of Public Relations and Information, Nigerian Air Force (NAF), Air Commodore

Ibikunle Daramola, in a statement, noted that, “the attention of the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) has been drawn to a publication in an online platform alleging that it did not respond to calls for support when suspected Boko Haram insurgents attacked Takulashi Village in Shikarkir Ward, Chibok Local Government Area of Borno State in the morning of Sunday, November 1, 2020”. “Information which the report alleges it obtained from supposed “military sources”. “The NAF wishes to state that there is absolutely no iota

of truth in the spurious allegations. Indeed, we ordinarily would not have responded to such baseless, unfounded allegations but for the need to set the record straight as well as reaffirm the NAF’s unflinching commitment to ensuring the security of Nigeria and Nigerians, wherever they may reside in the country.” According to the statement, “for the avoidance of doubt, it must be stated that the NAF did not receive any call for support regarding an attack at Takulashi village in Chibok LGA on November 1, 2020. Had any such report

been received, the NAF, in its characteristic responsiveness, would have certainly taken appropriate action. “Indeed, the report rightly remarked that “if air support came on time, one or two air strikes would have decimated them. “However, no request in this regard was made to the Air Task Force of Operation LAFIYA DOLE (ATF OPLD) on the said date. Accordingly, it was very wrong of the report to state, without any basis, that the NAF ‘ignored rescue calls’.

Amotekun Operatives Hand over Suspected Looters to Police James Sowole in Akure The Ondo State Security Network Agency better known as Amotekun Corps has handed over some suspected #ENDSARS looters to the Nigeria Police. It said the suspects involved in burning of police stations and looting of shops were arrested from different parts of the state.

Military paraphernalia and motor-cycles carted away were recovered. Amotekun Head of Intelligence, Mr. Adebayo Ayeni, said the suspects have confessed to the crimes. Ayeni explained that the suspects were picked through its intelligence gathering network. Commander of Ondo Amotekun Corps, Chief Adetunji

Olu-Adeleye, said efforts were on to arrest other looters and arsonists. One of the suspects, Mr. Oyewale Olayele, said he only picked some things from a police station and a high court already set ablaze with a view to selling them as scraps. Olayele stated that he didn’t know it was an offence to pick things in troubled areas.

He said the police cardigan he wore was picked up from a burning police station. Another suspect, Mr. Femi Ibine said the military paraphernalia found in his room belonged to his late grandmother who was a Colonel in the Nigeria Army. He claimed he joined others to fight a man who called him a thief.

TUESDAY NOVEMBER 3, 2020 â&#x20AC;¢ T H I S D AY

T H I S D AY Ëž Ë&#x153; ÍąË&#x153; 2020

COMMENT

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

POLICE LIVES MATTER

Fredrick Nwabufo writes that the killers of police officers in the recent violence must be brought to justice

umanity is all inclusive. There are no higher or lesser humans. We all breathe the same air. Whether doctor, lawyer, journalist, police or soldier; we are all humans first, and as such we are entitled to the natural right to exist, to live. When this right is breached â&#x20AC;&#x201C; even if it concerns our â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;â&#x20AC;&#x2122;enemyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;â&#x20AC;&#x2122; â&#x20AC;&#x201C; we must all stand up against the violator and condemn the abomination. We cease being human when we selectively outrage against transgressions. Every breach of the human code must be condemned. The right to live is eternal; hence any innocent soul lost to violence of any kind must not be discounted. All lives matter. As a matter of fact, in the heat of the violence that assailed the peaceful #EndSARS protests, the indignities executed on some members of the security agencies were consigned as footnotes. I must say, the violence was not the craft of the #EndSARS protesters; it was the sleight of hand of state agents and commanders of state terror who introduced hoodlums into the mix. The protests were largely peaceful until state-sponsored thugs, like bloodhounds, got unleashed on citizens exercising their rights. The centre could no longer hold and mere anarchy was loosed upon the nation. Yes, we simply cannot obviate the governmentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s role in the machination of the violence that nearly devoured the country. We must recognise that, and in fact emphasise it, those retailers of violence across the country were never #EndSARS protesters. We must not confute this fact. While the governmentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s backed hooligans were plaguing peaceful protesters, their brothers in arms took over the place, killing and maiming citizens, including law enforcement agents. I must concede, the savage killing of police officers in the recent violence has not received proportional outrage. I understand why this is so. But it is inexcusable. These are humans like the rest of us â&#x20AC;&#x201C; with families. Some of them were the breadwinners of their homes; they were fathers to their kids; they were husbands to their wives; they were brothers to their siblings and sons to their parents. Let us take a minute to imagine the agony of those they left behind. Really, beyond their uniforms, they are just humans -- with one life and cognate human challenges. I watched the videos of some of these killings. Too gruesome, too bestial, too ghastly. One of the recordings show a policeman with a knife stuck in his forehead, bleeding from all orifices while a mob takes a vicious turn on him. Another shows the beheading of an officer. Oh! God! Really, the past incidents are some of the darkest episodes in our recent history. Stranger than fiction. I used to think â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;â&#x20AC;&#x2122;beheadingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;â&#x20AC;&#x2122; is a barbarity left in the gutters of our bloody past. Alas! We are unevolving. In some places, police officers were â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;â&#x20AC;&#x2122;carbonisedâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;â&#x20AC;&#x2122; and about

THESE ARE HUMANS LIKE THE REST OF US â&#x20AC;&#x201C; WITH FAMILIES. SOME OF THEM WERE THE BREADWINNERS OF THEIR HOMES; THEY WERE FATHERS TO THEIR KIDS; THEY WERE HUSBANDS TO THEIR WIVES; THEY WERE BROTHERS TO THEIR SIBLINGS AND SONS TO THEIR PARENTS

205 police stations razed. I believe, this is saddening for all genuine #EndSARS protesters. Let me restate it, the violence was never the design of the majority of Nigerians who demanded the disbandment of the special anti-robbery squad unit. Nigerians only seek a police that will protect them, and not extort, frame, harm or kill them. I condemn the killing of all police officers in the recent orgy of bloodletting. I am outraged by the killings. And I ask that all those who have a hand in the carnage be made to account for their crime. Expectedly, police officers are refusing to return to their duty post. They are asking, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;â&#x20AC;&#x2122;why should we protect those that have humiliated us so?â&#x20AC;&#x2122;â&#x20AC;&#x2122; A divisional police officer was quoted by PRNigeria to have said: â&#x20AC;&#x153;In these ember months, and up to Christmas period and the New Year, I doubt if any of the security services can guarantee maximum security as usual. There is no way we can discharge our statutory responsibilities and function when we have become soft targets of miscreants and violent persons. Our destroyed facilities are yet to be reconstructed and rehabilitated; our looted armoury are yet to be restocked and when our men and women are yet to get over the humiliation of the atrocities committed on them by the same people we are charged to protect, how can we return to our duty post?â&#x20AC;? There is no defence for truancy. As long as they are still being paid by tax-payers they have to do their bounden duty. It is understandable that they could be experiencing ebbing in morale, but this is the time they have to rise up and show Nigerians it is a new era in the force. Let the #EndSARS protest be the change that the police themselves need to reform and survive, and to address its own internal contradictions and challenges. We cannot minimise the important issue of police welfare if we really desire the best from the security agency. Let this be the herald of improved welfare and work condition as well as training for members of the force. By declining to do their constitutional duty, the police officers are leaving more room for citizensâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; distrust and revulsion. The police cannot police well without the cooperation of citizens. So, leaving Nigerians to their own fate because they campaigned for reforms in the force will only worsen police â&#x20AC;&#x201C; citizen relationship. This is the time we have to reach out to each other â&#x20AC;&#x201C; the police and the civil population â&#x20AC;&#x201C; to build a strong bond. We must rise from this stronger and better. Let #EndSARS be the spark that will bring about a new epoch of law enforcement and citizen camaraderie. Again, police lives matter. Nwabufo is a writer and journalist

TUSSLE FOR ATTAH IGALA

Sanity is returning to the time-tested tradition of the Igala nation, writes Faruk Adejoh-Audu

otwithstanding the glory, reverence and extreme privilege bothering on deification that comes with ascending the throne of the Attah Igala, the contest for the stool has over time been devoid of the desperate, acrimonious and cutthroat competition that is often associated with the tussle for royal stools in other lands. The reason is not far-fetched. In the close to 700 years existence of the stool, Kingmakers had always followed laid down traditional processes and procedures in arriving at who becomes the divine ruler of the Igala people. The stool is to be rotated among four ruling families (house) of the Ayegba Oma Idoko Bloodline in the order of seniority. To wit; Ajâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Ameacho, Ajâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Aku , Ajâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Akogu and Ajâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Ocholi. Thus after the reign of one family, the next family to assume the throne is already known. Again in each family thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a preference for the eldest prince among the sons of the last person to occupy the stool granted that heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s screened and considered qualified and then presented by the Ruling House he belongs as their choice. It is noteworthy that in the race for succession in the Kingdom whatever modern religion a candidate professes neither counts for nor against his chances. This is because it is assumed that the religion of the Attah is the worship of and communion with his forefathers. Besides heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a divine priest-king. This attitude of de-emphasizing religion as a factor of interaction has permeated the entire Igala nation up to political contests with religion never determining the fortune of a candidate. Before the commencement of the in-house family screening process, the Achadu, who is the Prime Minister of the Kingdom at the completion of the rites of passage after the death of the Attah will declare the stool vacant. The Ruling House in line is expected to immediately constitute what can be regarded as a screening committee under the headship of the oldest man in the House who will liaise with principal stakeholders of the extended family to interview and screen the eligible princes. The choice of the House will then be presented to the three other Ruling Houses, who will then jointly present the candidate to the King

Makers known as the IgalaMela Council headed by the Etemahi, a First Class traditional ruler. In all likelihood, a candidate so presented is expected to become the next Attah Igala. But there was one major deviation in recent history, when the British Colonial Administration in 1956 ignored the time-tested process that had worked smoothly for over 600 years and turbaned a prince, Aliyu Obaje, whose Ruling House was not even in contention and escorted him to Idah, the Capital of Igala Kingdom to forcefully install as the Attah. This was to all intent and purpose a coup dâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;etat executed by the British against the Igala Kingdom. At the time, the rites of coronation of a new Attah in the person of late Opaluwa Oguche had all but been concluded. As a matter of fact he was only a few steps away from ascending the throne of his forefathers. The colonial government was said to have included the requirement that makes it mandatory for any aspirant to the throne to have undergone some measure of formal western education and decided that the Prince who best satisfied their requirements was the late Aliyu Obaje. It is believed that this interference may have been as a result of their frustrating experience with the then Attah Ameh Oboni who it was said resisted being subordinated to the powers and controls of the colonial administrationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s indirect rule. The Attah by that arrangement was not inferior King to the Sultan of Sokoto who is the Chairman of the Northern House of Chiefs. Oboni who would take none of that was considered cantankerous and his intransigence adjudged to be as a result of his illiteracy. After his deposition and eventual transition it was thus resolved that only an educated prince who understands and can recognize authority will be allowed to ascend the throne. This development effectively threw spanners into the works with Opaluwa Oguche who was already an Attah in waiting rejecting the imposition and heading to court. This was the first time the contest for the stool will assume such belligerent dimension. He was equally trenchant in trying to undermine the reign of Aliyu Obaje for years until a reconciliation was finally achieved through the efforts of the stakeholders of the Kingdom in 1972. Oguche

withdrew his suit from the Supreme Court and returned to his pre-nomination position as the District Head of Ugwalawo. Though Oguche succumbed to the pressures to let peace reign, the distortions introduced by the anomaly of imposing a turbaned Attah against tradition has continued to endure. For instance the contest that brought in the departing Attah His Royal Majesty, Idakwo Oboni for the first time became a free for all among the four ruling houses with each of the clan presenting candidates. In some cases some individuals even made independent bids for the stool. When eventually Idakwo Oboni of the Ajâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Ocholi Ruling House was chosen on the grounds that his father had occupied the throne (which is a requirement), at least two ruling houses, the Ajâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Ameacho who produced Opaluwa Oguche (the Attah in waiting that was supplanted by the British) and the Ajâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Akogu whose turn was also compromised were unhappy and were believed to be spoiling for a judicial showdown. However the then Governor in Office, Captain Idris Ichalla Wada deftly saved the situation with the enactment of Igala Area Traditional Council (Modification of Native Law and Customs) Order, 2015 Procedure and Regulation for the ascension to the Stool of the Attah Igala Act. The law amended the tradition that restricts succession only to the direct sons of persons who had occupied the stool. To sustain the tradition would have meant that the Ajâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Ameacho and the Ajâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Akogu would have expired as ruling houses as a result of the injustice of the British in 1956. The law equally prescribes that the restoration of the rotation will commence from the Ajâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Ameacho. The law now qualifies grandsons and nephews and grandnephews of an Attah to be eligible where there are no more direct sons. This was to cure the injustice against the two ruling houses whose last Attahâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s were Oguche Akpa of Ameacho House, (father of Opaluwa Oguche) who reigned from 1911 to 1919 and Atabo Ijomi of Akogu House who ruled from 1919 to 1926. No direct sons of these Attahâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s are still alive particularly after over a century of their demise.

The Wada Law has effectively doused the tension and with the rites of passage of the last Attah Agabaidu Michael Idakwo Oboni over the Ajâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Ameacho Ruling House it is gathered has been deliberating to pick its best among the qualified contenders. Already in the spirit of unity and submission to higher family interests that had hitherto characterized the contest some major contenders like Professor Armstrong Idachaba, Harvard-trained intellectual, Professor of Mass Communication and presently the Acting DG of the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) have against pressures and popular demand to participate withdrew from the contest to give the direct sons of late Opaluwa Oguche , the Attah that was halted on his way to ascension, the privilege to vie. There are speculations that each of the two sons of late Aliyu Obaje, the late King who was imposed by the British in 1956 are also individually interested in the contest and may be lobbying for the Wada law to be jettisoned. This cannot be independently verified but many fears that such a predacious ambition at a time when the Igala nation is revelling in the return of order and sanity to the succession process could force a review of the legitimacy of their fatherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s reign as Attah, having never been subjected to any of the rites required of an Igala King of the Ayegba Oma Idoko Dynasty. The contenders initially included James Ufaruna Opaluwa, the eldest surviving prince of the Opulawa family; Samuel Opaluwa a retired Central Banker and an alumnus of the prestigious Kings College, Lagos, who is second in seniority; Matthew Alhaji Opaluwa, a director at the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC); Ocholi Opaluwa, a very Senior Customs Officer. Others are Wada Adaji Oguche, a successful business man and Dr Mike Idachaba an American-trained scientist. The last two have withdrawn just like NBCâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Prof. Idachaba based on the consensus to allow the direct offspring of Opaluwa Oguche who was unjustly supplanted to remedy the injustice to their late father. Adejoh-Audu is a journalist and politIcian

T H I S D AY Ëž Ë&#x153; ÍąË&#x153; 2020

EDITORIAL

LESSONS AS AMERICANS VOTEâ&#x20AC;Ś The process leading to the elections holds lessons for Nigeria

s Americans go to the polls today to elect their president, the democratic ritual that comes up every four years has presented different nations with a diversity of takeaways. The contest is between the incumbent President Donald Trump representing the Republican Party and former Vice President Joe Biden of the Democratic Party. They are both in their seventies and know each other fairly well. Given the role the United States plays in the world it is no surprise that the election commands global attention. Whoever emerges, there would be global implications. We hope the better candidate wins. For us in Nigeria, the lessons are many but the most significant is the value of open debate in presenting an NIGERIANS MUST BEGIN electorate with a TO IMBIBE A CULTURE rounded picture of the candidates BY WHICH THOSE WHO contesting for ASPIRE TO LEAD OUR the highest office PEOPLE, ESPECIALLY AT in the land. The THE GUBERNATORIAL AND American system may not be perfect PRESIDENTIAL LEVELS, but nobody will ARE SUBJECTED TO A deny the fact RIGOROUS PROCESS OF that the voters PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT usually have an idea of who they were voting for and what they represented. On the contrary, our presidential candidates have mostly ascended office without any ideas about policies, programmes and the people they would need to help them actualise such vision. The situation is not helped by the fact that the political parties in Nigeria are, without any exception, just platforms for winning public offices. If we must develop as a nation, we cannot continue with the current arrangement where our leaders are practically handpicked and anointed by rabble factions of some renegade conclaves while most of them neither understand nor can they articulate national issues and problems. Nigerians

Letters to the Editor

T H I S DAY EDITOR

DEPUTY EDITOR Ë&#x153; Ë&#x153; MANAGING DIRECTOR DEPUTY MANAGING DIRECTOR CHAIRMAN EDITORIAL BOARD

EDITOR NATIONâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S CAPITAL MANAGING EDITOR

T H I S DAY N E W S PA P E R S L I M I T E D EDITOR-IN-CHIEF/CHAIRMAN GROUP EXECUTIVE DIRECTORS Ë&#x153; Ë&#x153;

Ë&#x153; Ë&#x153;

DIVISIONAL DIRECTORS Ë&#x153; Ë&#x153; DEPUTY DIVISIONAL DIRECTOR

SNR. ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR ASSOCIATE DIRECTORS Ë&#x153; CONTROLLERS Ë&#x153; Ë&#x153;

DIRECTOR, PRINTING PRODUCTION HEAD, COMPUTER DEPARTMENT Ě&#x201C; TO SEND EMAIL: ďŹ rst name.surname@thisdaylive.com

must begin to imbibe a culture by which those who aspire to lead our people, especially at the gubernatorial and presidential levels, are subjected to a rigorous process of public engagement. The value of such debates would include elevating national discourse and raising the standard of leadership selection process among political parties. Despite the novel challenges presented by Covid-19 and its protocols, there were two presidential debates between President Trump and his challenger, Biden. The two candidates were challenged to air their views on all aspects of the society they aspired to govern. More importantly, it was an opportunity for the media and the public to rigorously interrogate their moral credentials and past records. These debates gave the American public an opportunity to assess, first hand, the depth, character, knowledge, comportment, temperament and sincerity of the candidates to carry the mantle of national leadership. As we have reiterated in the past, the winner in these debates did not necessarily have to win the election. But the polity was enriched and better enlightened on the great issues at stake, and how the candidates conform to their own expectations. Regrettably, in Nigeria, we have run a democracy of virtual silence especially at the presidential level. In a handful of states, some attempts have been made over the years to hold debates among candidates. These attempts have been volitional rather than mandatory, hence most contestants ignore them. Even in instances where these contestants turn up, what usually followed could not be described as debates in the true sense of the word. At every election cycle since 1999, presidential candidates have routinely refused to debate their opponents or chose what debates to attend. In any case, the fickle attempts at organising presidential debates have been under the auspices of amorphous organisations not backed by any legislation. As we therefore seek to build our democracy on meritocracy, we must also accept that a process that involves such rigorous interrogations will definitely bring out the best and worst of the candidates thus making it easy for the electorate to make informed and rational choices.

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

NIGERIA AND DIGITAL BANKING

often wonder about the wind of change that is sweeping across the Nigerian banking industry, especially the deployment of mobile telephony for seamless and convenient banking. Indeed, gone are the days when one must visit a bank physically to carry out all forms of financial transactions. Now, what is in vogue is digital banking which beckons on customers, young and old, to jettison all notions of traditional banking. With digital banking, one can actually open a bank account from the comfort of his home, office or even in transit using a mobile app without having to physically appear at the doorsteps of a banking institution. This trend, which is fast gaining ground in the Nigerian banking space, is being embraced and encouraged by the youths and the middle class. Undoubtedly, the digital banking revolution which started with the introduction of Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) and mobile telephony in the early 1990s and 2000s, has now become even more imperative with the advent of the Covid-19 pandemic which has left in its wake the need to maintain social

distancing in public places. According to Mckinsey& Company, the digital revolution in banking that started with most traditional banks offering their customers high-quality web and mobile sites/apps has now become an alternative approach where digital becomes not merely an additional feature but a fully integrated mobile experience with customers using their smartphones or tablets to do everything from opening a new account and making payments to resolving credit card billing disputes, all without ever setting foot in a physical branch of a bank. Digital banking is part of the broader context for the move to online banking, where banking services are delivered over the internet. The shift from traditional to digital banking has been gradual and remains ongoing, and is constituted by differing degrees of banking service digitisation. Digital banking involves high levels of process automation and webbased services and it provides the ability for users to access financial data through desktop, mobile and ATM services. It is against this background that Sterling Bank Plc recently launched its OneBank App. According to the Chief

Technology Officer of Sterling Bank, Mr. Olayinka Oni, â&#x20AC;&#x153;We figured that customers approach banks for four key things - when they have a need to do payments and lending transactions or when they need to do investments and when they need financial advisory services. â&#x20AC;&#x153;So, the notion of OneBank was to abstract everything a customer needs to do in physical interaction with a bank into a digital platform. The OneBank App is our digital bank to ensure that everything a customer needs to do in physical engagement with us can be done on a digital platform with ease.â&#x20AC;? Besides banks and Fintechs are also leveraging the use of technology to disrupt the usual methods of banking in a bid to cater to the needs of the growing middle class who make up about 25 percent of the population. This is a group with growing spending power and who need to easily manage their finances and connect their growing capital to better investment opportunities. One of such Fintech platforms that readily come to mind is I-invest. Launched in 2018, I-invest is a digital investment platform that has been upgraded to reflect the peculiarity of

the moment. It is now changing the investment game in equity investment in Nigeria. It is a mobile application which allows current and aspiring investors to purchase securities and other related instruments, especially treasury bills without the aid of a broker. From the foregoing, the question that will be on the mind of any discerning bank customer might be: What will digital banking do for me? From personal experience, the Sterling Bankâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s OneBank App is enabling me to do all banking and payment transactions as everything that I need in a bank has been placed on my palm. The app also offers me easy banking and a wide range of convenient financial services as I enjoy some of its unique features such as self registration/ onboarding, instant account opening, domestic and foreign transfers, credit card requests, virtual card application and use and cash pick up â&#x20AC;&#x201C; withdraw money from ATM in branch without card. Friday Atufe, COO, Strategic Effects Limited

TUESDAY NOVEMBER 3, 2020 â&#x20AC;¢ T H I S D AY

T H I S D AY ˾ TUESDAY NOVEMBER 3, 2020

POLITICS

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

If Trump Wins… Nseobong Okon-Ekong and Vanessa Obioha write that under President Donald Trump’s administration, relationship between America and Nigeria, leaves Africa’s most populous country with the shot end of the stick

Buhari

ll eyes are on America as they head to the polls today to vote in a crucial presidential election that will set the course of their collective future and indeed many other countries in the world including Nigeria. The last four years of President Donald Trump’s administration has been a rollercoaster ride and not a few Democrats are eager to see the Republican leave the Oval Office. For these ones, this election is more than voting for Trump or Biden, it’s about restoring America’s global image and dominance, it’s about correcting wrongs alluded to Trump. It’s about making America great again (not in Trump’s way). It’s about steering the country in the right direction. The 45th president of the United States is, arguably, the most-talked-about president (sometimes not in a good way) since he assumed office. He’s been defamed, defaced and debased more than any president in the history of the US. He’s like the bad guy in an American horror movie whose antics continue to scare the living daylight out of most American liberals. Majority of the US mainstream media are not in his good books. He frequently labels them ‘fake news’. In the past few days, there’s been an avalanche of opinion reports, from New York Times to The Atlantic, urging citizens to vote out Trump with arguments on his poor handling of the Coronavirus pandemic which continues to ravage the US and the systemic racism that is so copious in the country among others. Trump and his rival, the Democratic Presidential candidate, Joe Biden are like the Biblical Cain and Abel who have to appease God with their sacrifices. In this case, they have to appease the people of America. And should Biden’s vision for America please the people more, Trump is likely not to concede power easily. Notwithstanding polls showing that Biden is leading, there is an unspoken fear or doubt that the democrat may not clinch the victory. A repeat of 2016 elections where the former US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton won popular votes but lost at the Electoral College is feared. What if that becomes the fate of Americans when the 2020 elections results come in? More importantly, what will be the fate of the world if Trump retains his presidential seat? His popularity on the world stage is not inconspicuous. It is displayed daily on Twitter, his preferred medium of communication. It may be successfully argued that Trump has altered the modus of presidential communication, perhaps, forever. He divulges information at whim, putting the Presidential Spokesperson at the risk of struggling to defend or even understand what the president had already made public. So, a Trump win may not be particularly good news for these countries, including Nigeria which fall under the President’s ‘shit-hole’ countries. A look at Trump’s relationship with Africa’s most populous country shows how it is fraught with dashed hopes on the path of Nigeria. From

Trump

President Muhammadu Buhari to personalities like Akinwumi Adesina occupying key positions in global affairs. On Buhari’s first visit to the White House in 2018, a convivial aura was perceived with Trump lauding Buhari’s fight against corruption and terrorism. “I especially want to thank President Buhari for Nigeria’s partnership and leadership in the fight against terrorism. He’s been a real leader. Nigeria was one of the first African nations to join the coalition to defeat ISIS, and Nigerian forces are currently leading regional efforts against ISIS in West Africa, and doing very well, as we have,” he said, according to the transcript available on the official White House website. President Trump also disclosed at that meeting that the US sold to Nigeria 12 U.S. A-29 Super Tucano aircraft. “It’s a great aircraft — and the first-ever [major] sale of American military equipment to Nigeria. These new aircraft will improve Nigeria’s ability to target terrorists and protect civilians.” When queried by a journalist if he will release at least two Tucano aircraft to Nigeria before 2020 to enable the country to fight terrorism, his answer was in affirmative. He further expressed delight in visiting the country soon. “I’d like very much to visit Nigeria. It’s an amazing country. And in certain ways, I hear from the standpoint of the beauty of a country, there’s no country more beautiful. So I would like to.” It’s been two years since Buhari’s historic visit and Trump is yet to reciprocate that gesture of goodwill. But shortly after that visit, Financial Times reported a derogatory remark made by Trump regarding President Buhari. The publication wrote: “The first meeting, with Nigeria’s ailing 75-year-old Muhammadu Buhari in April ended with the US president telling aides he never wanted to meet someone so lifeless again, according to three people familiar with the matter.” Under Trump’s administration, the US seems at odds with Africa, withdrawing support when it is expected. A good instance was the trial

Biden

of the president of the African Development Bank (AfDB), Akinwumi Adesina. Earlier this year, the US had a fallout with the institution over the re-election of Adesina. Adesina was accused of corruption and abuse of office by his staff prior to his re-election. According to the 20 point allegations by ‘Group of Concerned Staff Members of the AfDB’, Adesina was alleged to have used the bank’s resources for self-promotion and personal gain while also paying out huge but undeserved severance packages to staff who resigned mysteriously, and favouring his fellow Nigerians. An internal inquiry into these allegations exonerated the former Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development but the US Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin reportedly signed a letter to the board rejecting an internal investigation that cleared Adesina, according to a BBC report. “We fear that the wholesale dismissal of all allegations without appropriate investigation will tarnish the reputation of this institution as one that does not uphold high standards of ethics and governance. Therefore, the United States cannot support dismissing the allegations at this stage,” Mnuchin wrote. US backing was crucial to the acceptance of Adesina’s second bid as the country is the second-largest shareholder in the institution. By rejecting the initial review, the US painted a picture that contrasts President Trump’s lofty remark about Nigeria’s fight against corruption under Buhari’s leadership. It expressed little faith in Nigeria when it comes to financial propriety. Despite its insistence that an independent panel review the case, Adesina still emerged innocent and succeeded in his second bid as president of the bank. Again, the recent race to occupy the World Trade Organisation (WTO) headship cast an all-revealing searchlight on the waning relationship between the US and Nigeria. Former Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala had emerged as one of the candidates to occupy the seat of the organisation’s Director-General following the resignation of Roberto Azevedo. On October 28, Okonjo-Iweala was selected as

What will be the fate of the world if Trump retains his presidential seat? His popularity on the world stage is not inconspicuous. It is displayed daily on Twitter, his preferred medium of communication. It may be successfully argued that Trump has altered the modus of presidential communication, perhaps, forever. He divulges information at whim, putting the Presidential Spokesperson at the wrist of struggling to defend or even understand what the president had already made public. So, a Trump win may not be particularly good news for these countries, including Nigeria which fall under the President’s ‘shit-hole’ countries

the preferred candidate to lead the organisation, having been backed by countries from Europe, Asia and Africa but the US kicked vigorously against it, stating that it would not join in endorsing the former minister on November 9. They argued that Okonjo-Iweala lacked the necessary experience to lead the organisation which core objective is to ensure that rules of trade between member countries are respected and that trade was peaceful. Financial Times reports that a statement signed by the US trade representative’s office confirmed US support for Okonjo-Iweala’s rival South Korea’s Yoo Myung-hee whom they described as a bonafide trade expert and WTO needs to be “led by someone with real, hands-on experience in the field.” Other deductions have been made regarding US opposition, including that by the former Abia state gubernatorial candidate Alex Otti who in an article argued that the plausible reason for the country’s stance was President Trump’s fight with China. In his words, it is a battle between globalisation and protectionism. It is no news that there is no love lost between China and the US since President Trump assumed office. From trade policies to Coronavirus, there’s been heated exchange by the two countries in their fight for global power. Thus, kicking against Okonjo-Iweala’s candidacy is not surprising. But the news of her candidacy is a soothing elixir to Nigerians who have been barrelled with loss and grief in the past days that they are not willing to let America have the final say. If Okonjo-Iweala is endorsed on November 9 when she will head to the General Council, she will not only become the first female DG of WTO but also the first African to achieve that feat. To show the support for the candidate, the Minister of State for Industry, Trade and Investment, Mariam Katagum reportedly stated that “Nigeria is currently reaching out to all members of the WTO including the United States of America and South Korea to overcome the impasse as well as persuade the United States to join the consensus in adopting the recommendation of the appointment of Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala as DG-WTO,” read a statement by Katagum. On October 30, President Muhammadu Buhari tweeted that he just held a video conference with the President of the European Council, Mr Charles Michel. “I thanked the Council for its support for @NOIweala, Nigeria’s candidate for the position of Director-General of the World Trade Organisation. We will not relent until the goal is achieved,” read his tweet. It should be noted that Washington’s objection to Okonjo-Iweala’s candidacy is part of a series of opposition America has against WTO. The US rejected the organisation’s designation of China as a developing country and blocked the appointment of new judges to the organisation’s Appellate Body. NOTE: Interested readers should continue in the online edition on www.thisdaylive.com

T H I S D AY ˾ TUESDAY NOVEMBER 3, 2020

POLITICS

In Landmark Decision, Appeal Court Reverses Itself The Court of Appeal in Kaduna last Friday humbly reversed its earlier decision, sacking the member representing Lere Federal Constituency, Kaduna State in the House of Representatives, Davidson Iriekpen writes

istory was made last Friday when the Court of Appeal in Kaduna reversed itself in a case on the tussle for the Lere Federal Constituency seat in the House of Representatives between first, two aspirants of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and second, the candidates of the APC and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). In an unanimous decision, the court, presided over by Justices Obietonbara Daniel-Kalio, Saidu Tanko Hussaini and Olutodun Adepope-Okojie, did not only set aside its earlier decisions in suit number: CA/K/EPT/NA/18/2019 and suit number: CA/K/EPT/NA/19/2019 for being nullities, but ordered the reinstatement of Suleiman Aliyu Lere as the member representing Lere Federal Constituency of Kaduna State in the House of Representatives after he was sacked in November 2019. The court consequently ordered the enforcement its decisions in CA/K/40/2019 which was affirmed by the Supreme Court in SC/222/2019 and CA/K/EPT/ NA/4/2019 which had earlier declared Lere as both the candidate of the APC and the winner of the February 23, 2019 House of Representatives election for Lere Federal Constituency. The case started on October 7, 2018 when Lere participated in the primary election conducted by the APC for the Lere Federal Constituency and emerged the winner. However, the APC submitted the name of one Ahmed Mohammed Munir to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as its candidate for the federal constituency. Dissatisfied, Lere went to the Kaduna State High Court where he filed a suit to challenge the APC and INEC’s decision. The state High Court declined jurisdiction on the grounds that the dispute was an internal party affair. Not satisfied with the decision, the lawmaker proceeded to the Court of Appeal which after assuming jurisdiction, two days to the 2019 general election, precisely on February 21, 2019, in a unanimous judgment, ordered INEC to recognise, accept and treat him as the candidate of the APC in the election. The court added that it was unlawful for the APC to recognise and forward the name of any candidate other than the appellant (Lere) to INEC as its candidate for the election. It further held that it was unlawful for the APC to have changed the result of the primary election in which the appellant emerged winner and was so declared by the party. It equally restrained the 2nd respondent in the appeal, Munir, from parading himself as the candidate of the party in the 2019 general election, and awarded a cost of N500,000 each are awarded against the APC and Munir. At the end of the general election, which held on February 23, 2019, the APC scored 64,442 votes to emerge victorious while PDP came second with 29,709 votes. Meanwhile, at this point, Munir and the APC had appealed the decision at the Supreme Court and on May 10, 2019, the apex court in its judgment, upheld the decision of the Court of Appeal that Suleiman Lere was the candidate of the APC. The apex court concurred with the order of the Court of Appeal asking INEC to recognise, accept Suleiman Lere as the candidate of the APC in the 2019 general election, holding that it cannot be faulted. Consequent upon the decision of the Supreme Court, the INEC issued a certificate of return which was hitherto withheld pending the judgment of the court dated May 14, 2019 to Suleiman Lere. While the pre-election dispute was

Justice Monica Dongban-Mensem

Hon Suleiman Lere

being resolved at the Supreme Court, the PDP and its candidate, Lawal Muhammed Rabi’ufiled, filed a petition before the National and State Houses of Assembly Tribunal in Kaduna, challenging the outcome of the general election. They, however, did not join Suleiman Lere, the lawful candidate of the APC, as a respondent in the petition, instead they joined Ahmed Munir who as at the time of filing the petition, was not only a disqualified candidate, but was also restrained by the courts from parading himself as the APC candidate. Even though the main grounds of the petition before the tribunal was premised on nomination and candidature of Ahmed Munir vis-à-vis his disqualification by the Court of Appeal, the petitioners vehemently opposed a motion filed before the tribunal seeking to join Suleiman Lere, who was recognised by the electorate and presumed by law to be the APC candidate, as a necessary party in the petition. In its ruling delivered on June 1, 2019, the tribunal agreed with the petitioners and rejected the application seeking to join Suleiman Lere as the 4th respondent and a necessary party to the petition, a decision which analysts considered as shaving a man’s hair in his absence. Upon Lere’s interlocutory appeal to the Court of Appeal, a full panel of the court presided over by Justice Hussein Mukhtar, with Justices Obietonbara O. Daniel-Kalio, Saidu Tanko Hussaini, Oludotun A. Adefope-Okojie and James Gambo Abundaga, gave a unanimous judgment and held that Suleiman Lere was a necessary party and his joinder application in the petition was essential to the proper adjudication of the matter before the tribunal. At pages 19 to 20 of the judgment of the Court of Appeal delivered on July 26, 2019 in Appeal No: CA/K/EPT/ NA/4/2019 between Suleiman Lere Vs. Rabiu Muhammad Lawal, the Appeal

Court according to Justice Hussaini held thus: “It is important to note that the judgment of the Court of Appeal under reference was delivered a day or two before the general election took place. The general election was held on February 23, 2019. The Court of Appeal judgment was delivered on the February 21, 2019. It goes without saying, flowing from the decision above that as at the 23rd February 2019 when the general election was held or took place. “The 3rd respondent that is (Munir) was not the candidate of the APC rather the appellant, Suleiman Lere, was that candidate. The 5th respondent (INEC) was, by the reason of the judgment of this court put on notice to accept, recognise and treat the appellant herein as the candidate of the APC.” The court concluded that based on the reasons above, Suleiman Lere participated in the general election of 2019 and contested for Lere Federal Constituency.” The court further held: “Like the plaintiff in the case of Amaechi Vs. INEC (Supra), the appellant herein was an aspirant in the primary election organised by his party where he secured the highest number of votes, but unlike in the case of Amaechi Vs. INEC (Supra) the appellant herein was a candidate in the general election held on the February 23, 2019 where the APC and indeed, it was the appellant that won in that election, for the seat of Lere Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives. By reason of the appellant being the candidate, he participated in the general election held on the February 23, 2019 and thus had fulfilled all the requirements set by section 285 (13) of the Constitution (as amended) in terms of his participation.” The same Court of Appeal in Appeal No: CA/K/EPT/NA/12/2019 between Mohammed Shamsuddeen Bello Vs. Suraja Idris Kanawa presided over by

The case started on October 7, 2018 when Lere participated in the primary election conducted by the APC for the Lere Federal Constituency and emerged the winner. However, the APC submitted the name of one Ahmed Mohammed Munir to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as its candidate for the federal constituency. Dissatisfied, Lere went to the Kaduna State High Court where he filed a suit to challenge the APC and INEC’s decision

the same Justice Hussein Mukhtar and comprising of Saidu Tanko Hussaini and Oludotun A. Adefope-Okojie delivered a judgment on October 25, 2019 relying on the judgment of the full penal of the court in Appeal No: CA/K/EPT/ NA/4/2019 between Suleiman Lere Vs. Hon. Rabiu Muhammad Lawal & Others in holding that Mohammed Shamsuddeen Bello participated and won the election into Takai/Sumaila Federal Constituency. However, in a dramatic somersault, the same Court of Appeal presided over by the same Justice Hussein Mukhtar in CA/K/EPT/NA/19/2019 set aside the decision of the Supreme Court on the basis of which the APC issued a Certificate of Return to Suleiman Lere and also set aside the decision of the full Court of Appeal in Appeal No: CA/K/EPT/NA/4/2019. The court in Appeal No: CA/K/ EPT/NA/19/2019 with the same panel, reversed itself, saying that the APC which it hitherto adjudged to have sponsored a candidate and won the election for Lere Federal Constituency, did not now have a valid candidate in the February 23, 2019 general election. It consequently sacked Lere from House. The decision, no doubt, had raised many eyebrows with observers wondering that if the Supreme Court could determine that Suleiman Lere was the candidate of the APC for Lere Federal Constituency and the Court of Appeal endorsing the decision, how did the same panel arrive at a contrary decision that the APC did not have a candidate in the election? They were confused that the same court with the same justices would deliver conflicting decisions on the same subject matter, wondering if the decisions of the Court of Appeal in CA/K/40/2019, CA/K/EPT/NA/4/2019, CA/K/EPT/NA/12/2019 and CA/K/ EPT/NA/19/2019 could be justified? Convinced that the Court of Appeal goofed in the face of glaring evidence, the APC took up the battle on behalf of its candidate. Through its lawyer, Ms. Kehinde Oyeniran, it again approached the Court of Appeal with Suit No: CA/K/127/M/2020, asking the court to set aside its decisions in CA/K/EPT/NA/18/2019 and CA/K/ EPT/NA/19/2019 for being nullities. It urged the court to enforce its decisions in CA/K/40/2019 which was affirmed by the Supreme Court in SC/222/2019) and CA/K/EPT/NA/4/2019. The party contended that the decisions of the court in CA/K/EPT/NA/18/2019 and CA/K/EPT/NA/19/2019 were only a miscarriage of justice, but an aberration. It noted that since the decision of the Election Petition Tribunal cannot stand in the face of the superior courts’ decisions by virtue of Section 287(2) of the 1999 Constitution, the court should make consequential orders re-instating it candidate (Lere) as the member representing Lere Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives. The counsel to INEC, Messrs T.S. Inuwa (SAN), A. A. Umar and others, urged the court to dismiss the application. They not only argued that the court cannot reverse itself in a matter it had concluded and foreclosed, they also argued the application was an abuse of court process. With last Friday’s reversal, many observers are of the view that if the Court of Appeal did not reverse itself, and the case went back to the Supreme Court, the panel would have been seriously scolded and reprimanded by the apex court. The court on many occasions had seriously frowned at situations where its judgments were often misinterpreted or reverse by courts with subordinate jurisdiction.

T H I S D AY ˾ NOVEMBER 3, 2020

FEATURES

Group Features Editor: Chiemelie Ezeobi Email chiemelie.ezeobi@thisdaylive.com, 08038901925

SDGs Implementation: Challenges, FG’s Strategic Interventions The global community is marking year 2020 as an important milestone in the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals adopted by world leaders in September 2015 as a successor framework to the Millennium Development Goals. Iyobosa Uwugiaren examines the federal government’s strategic intervention

Launch of the iSDG (Integrated SDGs Simulation Model) by President Buhari at the sideline of the 74th session of the UN General Assembly in New York last year

he global call to action to end poverty, safeguard the planet and ensure that all people enjoy peace and prosperity in the next decade – as contains in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), is facing many challenges in Nigeria; but the federal government is said to be making strategic interventions. Nigeria has started implementing the SDGs almost instantaneously, following the adoption of the 2030 Agenda at the 70th session of the United Nations General Assembly in 2015, by creating institutional frameworks at the national and sub-national levels to support active implementation. But just as the federal government started what it described as “Decade of Action’’ for the Goals at the beginning of this year, the COVID-19 pandemic broke out - when Nigeria recorded its first index case on February 27, 2020. But, in spite of the huge impact of COVID-19 on every sector, especially the nation’s economy and health sector that disrupted the smooth implementation of the SDGs, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Sustainable Development Goals, Princess Adejoke Orelope- Adefulire, is convinced that there is much the Nigerian media could do to help navigate across the turbulent-period. Soliciting the media’s support at a retreat for journalists in Abuja recently, the presidential aide said the support of the media is crucial because by their training, journalists have the capacity to engage energetically with the public and private sectors towards the achievement of the SDGs in Nigeria. While noting that the 17 SDGs are a universal call to end ‘’poverty, safeguard the planet and ensure all people enjoy peace and prosperity by the year 2030’’, Princess Orelope-Adefulire argued that SDG-16, which aims to promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provides access to justice for all and build operative, accountable

some years ago, which envisions the present and future that is economically sustainable, social inclusive and environmentally resilient. And the federal government has created the Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on the SDGs (OSSAP-SDGs) in 2016 to provide ‘’horizontal and vertical’’ inter-governmental coordination, multi-stakeholders’ partnership and resource mobilisation, as well as healthy advocacy and communications for the SDGs in the country.

Mother and Child Hospital in Kano

and all-encompassing institutions at all levels, concisely captures the ‘’strategic roles’’ of journalists. She noted specifically that Goal16-10 provides that countries should ensure public access to information and protect fundamental freedoms, in accordance with the national legislation and international agreements. And urged journalists to see themselves as part of a larger team committed to the transformative promise of SDGs to lift humanity and ‘’leave no one behind.’’

The presidential aide, however, argued that despite the challenges confronting the country, Nigeria has made progress since President Muhammadu Buhari joined other world leaders during the 70th Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in September 2015 to adopt the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The federal government, the 36 States and the Federal Capital Territory had established institutional mechanisms for the implementation of the 2030 Agenda

The federal government, the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory had established institutional mechanisms for the implementation of the 2030 Agenda some years ago, which envisions the present and future that is economically sustainable, social inclusive and environmentally resilient

Strategic Interventions By OSSAPSDGs Explaining what her office has done and is doing to fulfil its mandate, the presidential aide said the OSSAP-SDGs, through its ‘’Conditional Grant Programme’’ had in the past five years supported governments at the sub-national levels and other stakeholders on projects and initiatives aimed at achieving the 17 goals of the SDGs. She celebrated the 100-bed Mother and Child Hospital in Ifon, Owo Local Government Area of Ondo State, to address the high prevalence of maternal and child mortalities in Nigeria, adding that the gesture was part of Buhari’s commitment to improve the healthcare and other sectors as well as life-skills development across the country. “This three-floor facility has two operating theatres, recovery rooms, sterilisation room, delivery room, consultation rooms, private and general wards, scanning room, side laboratory rooms, reception area, lounge, nurses room and station, doctors’ call rooms, scrub room and a boardroom’’, she said. The facility, she told journalists, also boasts of ultra-modern equipment that will aid the prompt delivery of maternal and child care services, which include: patient monitors with ECO2; suction machine double jar; Ultra-scan machines; Oxygen Generating machine; Vacuum Extractor Delivery Set; Anaesthetic Machine and Diathermy Machine. She added, “It also has an emergency cart with a defibrillator; baby incubators; photo therapy lamps; paediatric ventilators; multi-parameter monitors for mothers

T H I S D AY ˾ NOVEMBER 3, 2020

FEATURES

Senior Special Assistant to the President on Sustainable Development Goals, Princess Adejoke Orelope- Adefulire

Mother and Child Hospital in Ifon, Ondo State

and babies; crash cart; Theatre Monitor; defibrillators and fetal-doppler.” She explained that the federal government had remained committed to the accomplishment of the global agenda, “which also aligns perfectly with the cardinal objectives of Buhari’s administration. According to her, similar facilities have been established in Lagos, Kwara, Kano, Kaduna, Adamawa, Yobe, Benue, Abia, and Kogi States which are complemented by other 80-bed prototype hospitals established in other states across the country. Orelope-Adefulire said with COVID -19 pandemic challenging the heath system, there was urgent need to scale-up investment in the sector, explaining that strategic intervention was directly linked to the achievement of SDG-3 on ‘’Quality Health and Well-being for all’’ and other cross-cutting SDGs. The SSA stressed that the SDGs could not be achieved with stand-alone programmes, stressing that projects could be carefully mainstreamed into the policies and plans of the national government. “It is, therefore, imperative that the state government owns these strategic interventions and ensures their sustainability for the benefit of our people. “As we continue to work together to achieve the transformative promise to ‘Leave no one behind’, I would like to call on corporate organisations, philanthropists and foundations to continue to partner the government for this type of initiatives’’, she advised. Education As enshrined in Goal 4, quality education is seen as one of the cross cutting goals of sustainable development –believing that the achievement of the goal can have a multiplier effect on the achievement of all the other goals. In realisation of its importance, OSSAP-SDGs is said to have through its Conditional Grants Scheme and by direct funding, been intervening in efforts to improve the education process since 2016. Aside the intervention at the states, OSSAP-SDGs had in conjunction with other partners in 2019 celebrated the first International Day of Education in Nigeria in commemoration of the role of education in peace and development. The event, celebrated globally under the theme ‘’Education: A Key Driver for Inclusion and Empowerment’’ was celebrated in Nigeria with a panel session that had a conversation on the centrality of education in the achievement of all the other 16 SDGs with key stakeholders in the Nigerian education sector in attendance. OSSAP-SDGs had also early this year - with the support of other partners celebrated the International Day of Education under the theme, Learning for People, Planet, Prosperity, Peace. The event was used to rally stakeholders on the need to accelerate achievements of SDG 4, especially, the need to bring over 10 million out of school children roaming the streets in Nigeria back to classrooms.

To celebrate the 2020 day, OSSAP-SDGs took stakeholders to Pilot Science and Nursery, School, Abuja where the maiden initiative of its partnership with a Chinese company, NetDragon Websoft, to use digital technology for the advancement of education in Nigeria was implemented. Ask the presidential aide on SDGs, her position is that the availability of secured and conducive environment for learning is very crucial. And that perhaps, explained why she has embarked on massive construction, rehabilitation and furnishing of some educational facilities. So far, about 731 blocks of classroom are said to have been constructed and furnished with VIP toilets and external works across the country including Mussa Ward, Askira Uba LGA and kinranglam, Chibok LGA, Borno State. The projects were replicated in Katsina, Bauchi, Gombe, Nasarawa, Kano, Niger, Edo, Enugu, Kogi, Adamawa, Jigawa, Ogun amongst others. The office has also completed a Library building in Mega School Dumurkol, Daura, Katsina State. The Library is expected to serve as knowledge and resource centre for students Working with Subnational Governments, Other Stakeholders The former deputy governor of Lagos State said her office is also working with the subnational governments, other stakeholders as well as its local and foreign partners OSSAP-SDGs and has established framework, processes and strategic initiatives designed to aid the success of the 2030 Agenda in Nigeria. Orelope- Adefulire listed these to include the Development of a Country Transition Strategy - From MDGs to SDGs – 2016; SDGs Data Mapping and the Publication of Nigeria SDGs-Indicators Baseline Report -2017; Integration of the economic, social and environmental dimensions of the SDGs into the Nigeria’s Economic Recovery and Growth Plan; Domestication and Customisation of the Nigeria Integrated Sustainable Development Goals (iSDGs) Policy Simulation Model -2019 as well as ongoing Re-alignment of the National Statistic System (NSS) with the requirements and Indicators of the SDGs. She informed journalists that OSSAP-SDGs has started the design and implementation of the Integrated National Financing Frameworks (INFFs) for the SDGs and presented Nigeria’s 2nd Voluntary National

Review (VNR) to the UN High-Level Political Forum (HLPF) on Sustainable Development in July 2020. While reiterating her commitment to the successful implementation of the SDGs Nigeria to navigate the ‘Decade of Action’ for the Global Goals, she noted that though there are challenges, they are not insurmountable if all Nigerians work together. “The challenges we face in our efforts to achieve the SDGs are numerous, complex and multi-faceted. Nevertheless, with all stakeholders working together and in synergy – as exemplified in what we are doing here, we will certainly overcome,” she said. Ongoing Initiatives The OSSAP-SDGs stated that between 2016 to date, a number of strategic initiatives have been implemented and some still ongoing. Some of these strategic initiatives, according her, include, the development of a Country Transition Strategy - From MDGs to SDGs – 2016; SDGs Data Mapping and the publication of Nigeria SDGs-Indicators Baseline Report -2017; integration of the economic, social and environmental dimensions of the SDGs into the Nigeria’s Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) 2017-2020; and domestication and customisation of the Nigeria Integrated Sustainable Development Goals (iSDGs) Policy Simulation Model -2019; The initiatives also include, ongoing realignment of the National Statistic System (NSS) with the requirements and indicators of the SDGs - to be completed by March 2020; commencement of the design and implementation of the Integrated National Financing Frameworks (INFFs) for the SDGs; and commencement of the process for independent evaluation of priority SDGs - SDGs 1; 3 and 4 in January 2019. Nigeria presented its 1st and 2ndVoluntary National Review (VNR) to the UN High-Level Political Forum (HLPF) on Sustainable Development in 2017 and 2020 respectively. The 2020 Voluntary National Review (VNR), for instance, focused on seven priority reporting SDGs - 1, 3, 4, 5, 8, 16 and 17. This prioritization, according OSSAP-SDGs, is based on the nation’s national development priorities as embedded in the Nigeria’s Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) 2017-2020 and the three cardinal objectives of President Buhari-led administration: economy, security and fight

The challenges we face in our efforts to achieve the SDGs are numerous, complex and multi-faceted. Nevertheless, with all stakeholders working together and in synergy – as exemplified in what we are doing here, we will certainly overcome

against corruption. ‘’Unfortunately, just as we commenced the ‘Decade of Action’ for the SDGs in January 2020, the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic across the world has now challenged the prospects of achieving the SDGs’’, the presidential aide argues. Beyond Health Threats, Human Cost of COVID-19 Going by the analysis of the SDGs office, beyond the health threats and human costs of the pandemic, the socio-economic uncertainties and disruptions, came at a substantial cost to the Nigerian economy - which is mainly dependent on oil and gas revenues. Nevertheless, some optimists believed that the fiscal and monetary measures taken by the federal government to avert the economy from going into a turmoil will help. The objective of the federal government along this line is to restore stability to the economy by providing assistance to individuals, Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and businesses that had been severely affected by the pandemic and the lockdown measures. Some of the federal government earsplitting, much-talk-out measures, include, creation of N100 billion target credit facility for affected households and small and medium enterprises through the NIRSAL Microfinance Bank; creation of a N100 billion intervention fund in loans to pharmaceutical companies and healthcare practitioners intending to expand and strengthen the capacity of our healthcare institutions. And creation of a research fund, which is designed to support the development of vaccines in Nigeria. The federal government has also talked about a N1trillion facility in loans to boost local manufacturing and production across critical sectors. SDGs Recommendations for Economic Growth Interestingly, in making recommendations for economic growth, the office of SDGs talked about areas to strengthen, which include: Implementation of a comprehensive reform of non-oil taxes/working with the states in improving tax compliance significantly; partnering with the private sector in the management of state-owned enterprises and the federal government’s infrastructure spending should be focused on improving the capacity and efficiency of the national grid and connecting all state capitals and the ports by modern rail system – as this will most likely boost non-oil exports. Failure to act now, according to the office of SDGs, has huge consequences to Nigeria: If nothing is done to reform the economy, and Nigeria maintains its current pace of growth and unemployment levels, then it is expected that by 2030 the number of Nigerians living in extreme poverty will increase by more 30 million. And Nigeria could account for 25 per cent of the world’s extremely poor population.

TUESDAY NOVEMBER 3, 2020 â&#x20AC;¢ T H I S D AY

LAWYER

WEEKLY PULLOUT

03.11.2020

DG, NBC, Prof. Armstrong Idachaba

Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed

#ENDSARS, Hoarding Palliatives, Fining Media Houses: Symptoms of a Failing Nation?

2/DASHBOARD

03.11.2020

LAWYER

WEEKLY PULLOUT

03.11.2020

DG, NBC, Prof. Armstrong Idachaba

T A O T Eﬀ C L P P T L PAGE 4

#ENDSARS Protests: Respect Fundamental Rights of Nigerians – NBA President PAGE 5 Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed

#ENDSARS, Hoarding Palliatives, Fining Media Houses: Symptoms of a Failing Nation?

SAN D11 11 1 1 N1151 F111 111 1 C1111 1 PAGE 5

QUOTABLES ‘To the young people across Nigeria who have led this protest, whose call for change has brought about this his historical moment, you are the midwives of national rebirth. You have moved the nation to action, and now, you must join the hard work of making it real - the vision of a more prosperous, more resilient nation.’ - Honourable Hakeem Olufemi Gbajabiamila, Lawyer, Speaker, House of Representatives, Federal Republic of Nigeria ‘We encourage you to be civil....But, if anyone touches or assaults you, you can also protect yourselves. When we talk of human rights, the Police are human, so the rights of Police Officers must also be protected. We are sending the message that, legally, we have the right to protect ourselves.’ - Mohammed Adamu, Inspector General of Police, Nigeria

S1 1 1 11 11 1 B1 1 1 11 T1 1 D1 1 1 PAGE 7

03.11.2020

#ENDSARS Protests: The Warning This Time The ‘Black Days’ Is there any point in making any more comments about the events of the 'Black Days' and the constantly changing narratives arising therefrom? That the Lekki Concession Company has undertaken to release the video footage of the incident, is a step in the right direction - provided that, the complete, unadulterated footage, is what is released. I’m sorry to say that, successive Nigerian Governments are not particularly known for their transparency (present company included). Rather, they are famous for quite the opposite - opaqueness and coverups; even for matters that Nigerians should be informed about; for example, how and/or when General Abacha, Chief M.K.O. Abiola and President Yar’Adua died, and the exact illness that President Buhari was being treated for in the UK. The fact that we have the Freedom of Information Act, is irrelevant. That legislation is simply there to decorate the statute books, nothing more. The Nigerian Army changed its story, faster than a chameleon changes its colour - initially, it was fake soldiers on the scene, then it was that they were real soldiers (identities withheld), but they fired blanks. Who gave them the instruction to open fire on the #ENDSARS Protesters? Mr Governor, their Commander in Lagos, the Chief of Army Staff or the President? If Mr Governor was able to command Army troops to disperse the peaceful protest on ‘Black Tuesday’, why was he unable to call them back to intervene when they were so desperately needed, to stop the looting and carnage of ‘Looting Wednesday’ by hoodlums? Mr. Governor has denied asking the soldiers to shoot - what did he expect that the soldiers would do at the tollgate to disperse the Protesters? Sing Nursery rhymes and Christmas carols? People who are trained to kill at the drop of a hat? I restate my earlier submission that the #ENDSARS Protest at the tollgate, did not qualify under the provisions of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) (the Constitution), as one in which the Army would be called in, whether by Section 217 - there was no insurrection to be quelled and order to be restored, or Section 305 of the Constitution - no state of emergency had been declared; and assuming, but not conceding that the tollgate situation did qualify in either case, the laid down procedure provided in the Constitution to be able to lawfully invite the Army in, was not followed. In law, Mr Governor who dispatched armed soldiers to the scene, may be held just as liable as those who opened fire. And for those who are happy to further divide Nigerians by playing the ethnic card and saying that it was the Igbos that looted and destroyed Lagos, others can also reply by claiming that since it is Northerners who are in charge of the Police and most of the Armed Forces, and they failed to come to the rescue of Lagos on Looting Wednesday, they are also culpable. Please, let us refrain from going down such a destructive path of stirring up ethnic sentiments. To be candid, it makes more sense to allege that it is Government (both Federal and State) and the Politicians, who may have connived against the people to protect their own interests, and not tribe against tribe in this particular circumstances. This kind of baseless allegations predicated on ethnicity, has most likely been orchestrated by the real culprits behind this whole saga, as a distraction - to remove suspicion from them. The NBC’s Faux Pas One would imagine that, with all the negative world-wide publicity that the Government of Nigeria has received from the #ENDSARS events and fallout, that they would be as measured as possible in their reactions. But, no, the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) showed itself up, when it thoughtlessly purported to fine three reputable television stations - ARISE TV, AIT and Channels TV N3 million each, for their so-called ‘unprofessional coverage’ of the events which took place during the Black Days and thereafter. This is not surprising, considering the fact that the NBC is a creation of the Military’s Decree No. 38 of 1992, with a mandate to regulate and control (gag) broadcasting in Nigeria. Obviously, the NBC is still stuck in a time warp - the military era! Sections 22 and 39 of the 1999 Constitution, uphold the responsibility of the press and media to Nigerians, and guarantee our right to freedom of expression and the press, respectively. What is the duty of a News television station, if not to cover event news stories and current affairs, and disseminate them to the public? To analyse stories and interview guests? The television stations played videos of the shootings on Black Tuesday - shooting which is undeniable, and the devastation of Looting Wednesday and thereafter, in different parts of the country. Whether

the shots fired were blanks or real, should be subject of a forensic examination, and not just taking the Army’s word for it. The television stations then hosted several guests including Government Officials, Politicians, Security Analysts, former members of the Armed Forces, Youths and so on, to discuss the events. What is wrong with that? It would have been strange and remiss of the television stations, not to cover such historical, but unfortunate events. After all, many News Anchors all over the country had attended the Protests at the different locations on a daily basis, reporting live from there. This type of crude attempt by Government to gag, suppress and oppress the Press/Media in a supposed democratic dispensation in the 21st century, is simply unacceptable, and, if anything, portrays Government in a more gloomy and jaundiced light to the world. Divisive Elements: Federal Government/State Governments/NASS and the ‘Next Level’ Federal Government I find it quite bizarre, when the Presidency and its spokespersons continuously accuse some 'unknown' persons of the Third Realm, of being the divisive elements in our polity. While it may be true that indeed, there are some mischief/trouble makers who are always prepared to cause confusion, and are happy to take advantage of any available opportunity to do so, it is undeniable that this present administration is the master of division, yet it sees no fault in itself, and is always quick to blame others at the hint of any problem. Should I bother to refer to Sections 1(2) and 14(3) & (4) of the Constitution for the umpteenth time? That Government shall not be concentrated in any person or group of persons, and that Federal Character must be reflected in Government, in order to promote national unity and national loyalty? The Constitution, as bad a document as it is, by the aforementioned provisions, clearly takes cognisance of the fact that, an equitable distribution of Governmental positions (especially those positions which when combined, are the ones that actually control the country) amongst the different ethnic nationalities, promotes national unity. Yet, Government takes pride in doing quite the opposite, distributing the positions unfairly instead, and then says it is committed to ‘One Nigeria’! Indeed! Examples abound - Government’s skewed appointments in the security sector in favour of the North, with no tangible improvement in our security situation; the blunt refusal to replace the Security Chiefs, despite their discouraging performance; the handling of the herdsmen crisis; leaving Lagos, the commercial nerve centre of Nigeria to burn on Looting Wednesday; refusal to address the calls for restructuring, are more than enough reasons to keep the ball of divisiveness set by Government, rolling. However, another type of division, the ‘next level’ of divisiveness taking over from that of tribe and religion - is between ‘the Have and Have Nots’ - based upon poverty - a mild display of the consequences of this division, is what we experienced on Looting Wednesday; and Government at most levels, is the biggest cause of this. State Governments and Local Legislators The recent revelation that some State Governments hoarded food donations made by the Cacovid Group to the people to ease their hunger during the Covid-19 lockdown (in the North, East, West and South), evinces the fact that, coming a close second to the Federal Government in terms of failure to discharge their constitutional obligations to the people, thereby causing division between the haves and the have nots, are many of the Governors and their State apparatus. We have spent so much time on the Federal Government, while failing to shine the search light on State Governments. Section 16(1)(b) of the Constitution enjoins Government (which includes Federal, State and Local) to, inter alia, control the economy in such a manner as to secure the maximum welfare and happiness of every citizen. However, on the contrary, several

States, including Lagos, have made their people truly sad and disillusioned. You will recall that in my piece of April 7, 2020, "Covid-19 Miscellaneous", I mentioned the residents of Olayinka Street, Alimosho, Egbe, Lagos, who displayed their 'Emergency Food Response Package’ which comprised of one paper bag of essentials like gari, rice, beans and one loaf of sliced bread, to feed a street of a minimum of 300 residents for a period of two weeks! Yet, warehouses full of uncountable bags of essentials like rice, gari and boxes of Indomie noodles etc were discovered all over the place, in some cases, almost six months after they should have been distributed, despite the fact that during the lockdown, people came out in droves crying that they were hungry and their children were suffering, because the palliatives distributed to them were grossly inadequate. Many of them declared that they would rather jettison the lockdown in order to eke out a living on their daily wages, and risk the chance of contracting the dreaded virus, rather than stay at home and starve to death. Section 17(2)(c) and 17(3)(g) of the Constitution provide that "Governmental actions shall be humane", and mandates Government to make provision for public assistance in deserving cases and other conditions of need. Pray tell, what situation could have been more deserving of public assistance than the Covid-19 lockdown period? Granted Cacovid may have distributed palliatives to the States in batches, in order of priority - possibly giving Lagos and Kano (which were the most affected by the virus initially), and other Northern States plagued by the Boko Haram insurgency and banditry their palliatives in the first batch, while a State like Kogi which claimed that it was Covid-19 free, may have received theirs later in a subsequent batch; but, the question is, what were States like Lagos and Nasarawa still doing with such large quantities of supplies, almost six months after they had been donated by Cacovid for the people? What valid explanation could the States who had received the palliatives so long ago have, for not distributing them? One numb explanation given by one of the ‘Birthday Legislators’, an APC lawmaker in the Lagos State House of Assembly, was that he was planning to distribute the palliatives to widows and the vulnerable in his constituency, on his birthday at the end of October! Another Birthday Legislator was alleged to have repackaged the Indomie Noodles, and distributed them to guests in take-home party packs during her birthday celebration early last month - common theft by people who already have so much, from their hungry constituents! So wicked, despicable, disgusting and disgraceful. Is this type of selfish and cruel behaviour not enough to cause anger, disaffection and division between the haves and the have nots in the land? If I was in their constituency, I would be spearheading the Petition to have them recalled. NASS Members As if it is not bad enough that most Nigerians believe that National Assembly members are paid unjustifiable salaries and perquisites, they have taken to advertising their indefensible wealth by displaying their obscene, extravagant homes, vehicles, wrist watch collections etc all over social media, singing and praising God for their riches which they acquired at the expense of millions of Nigerians, while majority of their constituents are either struggling to eat one meal a day if they are lucky (0-0-1 instead of 1-11), or scavenging from the dustbins. The women Politicians adorn themselves in expensive looking fabrics and jewellery, take photos and use them as their campaign posters! It all leaves a bad taste, in the mouths of the people. In a recent television interview, a Senator of the Federal Republic said that he was tired of hearing people say they were overpaid; that after all, N127 billion allocated to NASS in a N13 trillion budget, made no difference! Such arrogant comments showing a ‘wrong and strong’ attitude are not just unhelpful,

“......ANOTHER TYPE OF DIVISION, THE ‘NEXT LEVEL’ OF DIVISIVENESS TAKING OVER FROM THAT OF TRIBE AND RELIGION - IS BETWEEN ‘THE HAVE AND HAVE NOTS’ - BASED UPON POVERTY - A MILD DISPLAY OF THE CONSEQUENCES OF THIS DIVISION, IS WHAT WE EXPERIENCED ON LOOTING WEDNESDAY; AND GOVERNMENT AT MOST LEVELS, IS THE BIGGEST CAUSE OF THIS”

but inciteful. N127 billion budget for 12 months for a body comprising of less than 500 Legislators? An amount that can pay the salaries of over 25 million workers at a minimum wage of N60,000 for the same period of 12 months! And, while I accept the fact that everybody cannot be rich, it is highly inequitable and unacceptable for Legislators and top Government Officials to be living fat off Nigeria’s money, while majority are denied even the basics. Conclusion Government, it’s officials and the Legislators are the ones who have singlehandedly put themselves in a position of odium and disrepute, by their actions. During the years of the military regimes, they were accused of enriching themselves and their cronies. Now, Government policy is geared towards doing the same for its own group - its officials, Legislators and cronies. It is no surprise that miscreants visited the homes of some Senators to wreak havoc out of bitterness - that kind of ‘let’s forcibly take our own share of the national cake’ mentality. The sooner Government begins to take responsibility for some of the divisions in our society, especially inter-tribe and inter-religion, and more importantly, between the haves and the have nots which it has fuelled, and make reparations, the better for us all. If not, what we saw on Looting Wednesday and beyond will be child’s play in comparison to what can happen; and as we have all seen, unfortunately, the innocent and hardworking, will not be spared. For many who were thin and hungry, ‘soaking gari and peanuts without sugar’ before they got into political office, now crassly displaying for all to admire, their handmade rugs from Italy, furniture from France, fleet of cars, wrist watch collections and so on, after a few years in office, be warned - social media is a strong tool which didn’t exist previously, the non-existence of which may have allowed past Governments to get away with atrocities. Today, all Nigerians, especially the masses who are in the majority, are watching. A word, they say, is enough for the wise!

4/LAW REPORT

Traditional Arbitration of Oath Taking: Effect on Common Law Principle of Proving Title to Land shift to the Appellants when the Respondents who asserted exclusive ownership of family land, had not discharged the primary burden of proof on them to prove the same. Counsel for the Respondents argued to the contrary that, the Respondents having successfully established the existence of the custom which they pleaded, that one man can take oath on a land in dispute without the support of others, the onus shifted on the Appellants had asserted the contrary that one man does not swear to a juju placed on a land in dispute without support under the native law and custom of Amansea town and Igbo land in general, to prove the assertion. However, the Appellants failed in that regard, and the court rightly accepted the position put across and established by the Respondents.

Facts The Respondents, who are members of the Chibunze family in Egbeagu Village, Amansea in Awka North Local Government Area of Anambra State, filed an action at the High Court against the Appellants, seeking, inter alia, declaration of title to a certain Isi-ekpe land. It was the case of the Respondents as Plaintiffs that, the land in dispute was originally part of family land belonging to the Umuofonye kindred which they and the Appellants belong to until sometime in 1940, when one Emmanuel Uba, a member of Umuogbocha kindred in Egbeagu Village trespassed on the land, and the Respondent’s father, Chibunze, challenged his trespassory acts. They claimed that the Egbeagu Village intervened in the dispute, and invited both Umuogbocha and Umoofuonye kindreds for arbitration. The Egbeagu Village decided that Umuogbocha kindred should place a juju on the land in dispute for the Umuofuonye kindred to swear, by removing the said juju. The Respondents claimed that their father, Chibunze, without the support of the other members of the Umuofuonye kindred who stayed away because of the fear of being killed by the juju, rose to the occasion and singlehandedly took the oath by successfully removing the juju. They claimed that under Amansea native law and custom, if one man takes oath on a land in dispute without the support of others and survives the oath taking period, he becomes the owner of the land in respect of which the oath was taken, and if members of his family support him, the land will be family property. They claimed that on account of their father’s action and upon surviving the customary period of oath taking, he became the exclusive owner of the Isi-ekpe land and exercised diverse acts of possession on the land, such as farming thereon. The Respondents further claimed that before their father’s death, he allotted portions of the land to his male children; however, sometime in 2004, the Appellants pulled down and burnt the bungalows of their oldest brother allotted to him by their father, and this led to the institution of the action in court. The Appellants in their defence maintained that under Amansea native law and custom and Igbo custom generally, one man does not swear to a juju or oath on a land in dispute unsupported. They averred that the other members of the Umuofuonye family assisted the Respondents’ father to remove the juju placed on the Isi-ekpe land by the Umuogbocha kindred, and after the oath taking exercise, the Respondent’s father never claimed exclusive ownership of the Isi-ekpe land as other members of the Umuofuonye family continued to farm on the land collectively, unhindered. At the conclusion of trial, the trial court delivered its judgement in favour of the Respondents, and granted the reliefs sought. Thereafter, the Appellants appealed to the Court of Appeal which affirmed the judgement of the trial court, and dismissed their appeal. The Appellants filed a further appeal to the Supreme Court. Issues for Determination Two issues were submitted for determination by the court as follows: 1.Whether the Respondents established by cogent evidence, the custom that a family member who defends family land by oath taking automatically becomes the exclusive owner of such family land, so as to entitle them to the declaration sought. 2.Was the court below right when it affirmed the decision of the trial court that the burden of proof shifted to the Appellants, when the Respondent failed to discharge the initial burden of proof. Arguments On the first issue, counsel for the Appellants contended that the Respondents did not establish by cogent evidence, the custom which they claimed, that a family member who defends family land alone by oath taking automatically becomes the exclusive owner of such family land. He cited ORLU v GOGO-ABITE (2010) 1 SCNJ 322, 333 and ODUNUKWE v OFOMATA (2010) 12 SCNJ 548. He submitted that the evidence of the Respondents’ witnesses as to whether the Respondents’ father took the oath over the disputed land in his personal capacity or on behalf of the Umuofuonye kindred was contradictory, and the Court of Appeal erred in law when it affirmed the decision of the trial court which was based on the contradictory evidence. On his part, counsel for the Respondents argued that where parties who believe in the efficacy of juju resort to oath taking to settle a dispute, they are bound by the result. He cited ONYEGE & ORS. v EBERE (2004) 13 NWLR (Pt. 889) 20, 40 – 41. He submitted that the Respondents pleaded the customary arbitration of oath taking. and were able to establish by cogent evidence, the existence of the custom that

Honourable Chima Centus Nweze, JSC

In the Supreme Court of Nigeria Holden at Abuja On Friday, the 13th day of March, 2020 Before Their Lordships

Olabode Rhodes-Vivour Mary Ukaego Peter-Odili Chima Centus Nweze Amina Adamu Augie Ejembi Eko SC.395/2015 Between PIUS UMEADI & 10 ORS

And

VICTOR CHIBUNZE & ANOR

APPELLANTS RESPONDENTS

(Lead Judgement delivered by Honourable Chima Centus Nweze, JSC)

one man can singlehandedly remove a juju placed on a disputed land in Amansea, and the implication is that he becomes the exclusive owner of the land in respect

of which he took the oath after surviving the customary period of oath taking. On the second issue, counsel for the Appellants argued that the onus of proof will not

”WHERE PARTIES DECIDE TO BE BOUND BY TRADITIONAL ARBITRATION RESULTING IN OATH TAKING, COMMON LAW PRINCIPLES IN RESPECT OF PROOF OF TITLE TO LAND NO LONGER APPLY.... PROOF OF OWNERSHIP OF THE LAND IN DISPUTE, WILL BE BASED ON THE RULES SET BY THE TRADITIONAL ARBITRATION BY OATH TAKING”

Court’s Judgement and Rationale Deciding the first issue, the Supreme Court relied on the provisions of Section 16(1) and (2) of the Evidence Act, 2011 that proof of custom is a matter of evidence, and where a custom has not been judicially noticed, it behoves the party claiming the existence of the custom and who carries the burden of proof, to establish that custom which they assert. The court relied on IHEANACHO v CHIGOZIE (2004) 20 NWLR (Pt. 1001) 130 at 160. The court upheld the finding of the Court of Appeal that evidence of tradition and traditional practices is hearsay which is tolerable and admissible evidence by virtue of the Evidence Act, 2011; however, the fact remains that such evidence is still hearsay. When therefore, such evidence is placed side by side with the evidence of the person who saw the event where the tradition was applied take place, who saw the outcome of the event, the latter piece of evidence should be preferred. The Court held further that where parties decide to be bound by traditional arbitration resulting in oath taking, common law principles in respect of proof of title to land no longer apply. It is clear that the parties in the appeal decided to be bound by traditional arbitration resulting to oath taking; thus, common law principles no longer applied, and the proof of ownership of the land in dispute, will be based on the rules set by the traditional arbitration by oath taking. The court relied on ONYEGE & ORS. v EBERE (Supra). The Court agreed with the Court of Appeal that the witnesses called by the Respondents gave satisfactory evidence at the trial, to the effect that under Amansea custom one person can swear an oath on a disputed land, and the Respondent’s father was the one who singlehandedly took the oath without the support of his brethren who deserted him, and he lived to survive the customary period of oath taking, and thereafter, became the exclusive owner of the land in dispute in accordance with Amansea native law and custom. Further, PW2, a member of the Umuogbocha family, gave an eyewitness account of the proceedings during the oath taking which took place in 1940. PW2, who was a member of the Umuogbocha family gave direct evidence which was not contradicted by the Appellants, of how the Umuogboncha family had planted the juju on the land in dispute, and how it was the Respondents’ father who resisted the claim of the Umuogbocha family to the land in dispute, put his life on the line and removed the juju from the land. On the 2nd issue, the Apex Court held that customary law is unwritten and it depends on what the appropriate authority believes, or is persuaded to believe by evidence as the customary law. In other words, customary law is a question of fact to be proved by evidence - OMAYE v OMAYA (2008) 7 NWLR (PT. 1087) 447. The court upheld the finding of the Court of Appeal that the Appellants had put up a rule of customary practice by their averments in their statement of defence, that under the native law and custom of Amansea and Igbo land in general, the practice of oath taking must be supported. With the firm standing of the Respondents, the burden therefore shifted to the Appellants to dislodge the assertion of the Respondents, and prove the existence of the custom which they had asserted in their statement of defence. However, the Appellants’ failed to cite any instance of the said custom either from Amansea or from Igbo land, and the evidence put forward by Appellants’ witnesses that the Respondents’ father was assisted by other persons in the Umuofuonye family were what they were told by others and not first-hand information or direct evidence, to dislodge the eyewitness account of the event as narrated by PW2. Appeal Dismissed. Representation Ifeanyi Obiakor for the Appellants. Fidelis O. Anyanegbu for the Respondent. Reported by Optimum Publishers Limited, Publishers of the Nigerian Monthly Law Reports (NMLR)

03.11.2020

NEWS/5

#ENDSARS Protests: Respect SAN Demands N115m Fees from Client Fundamental Rights of Nigerians â&#x20AC;&#x201C; NBA President The President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Mr. Olumide Akpata, has called on the government and its security agencies to respect the fundamental rights of Nigerian citizens, in the aftermath of the nationwide protests for the scrapping of the notorious Special Anti- Robbery Squad of the Nigeria Police (SARS). In a press statement issued last Friday, Mr. Akpata said â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;I have in the past 24 hours received several calls and complaints from Lawyers and Nigerians generally, about the recent public parade of hundreds of persons arrested and detained by the Nigeria Police on the suspicion of taking part in the looting and destruction of public buildings and private businesses, and/or for contravening the curfew declared by various State Governors in the aftermath of the #ENDSARS protests that unfortunately turned violent. â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;As I have continuously maintained, the Nigerian Bar Association is completely opposed to any act of arson, vandalism, destruction of public or private assets, or other forms of force or violence. However, the legal rights of citizens who are arrested on account of such allegations must be respected, especially their right to the presumption of innocence. â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;In many, if not most of these cases, these people, who it must EH QRWHG DUH Ă&#x20AC;UVW DQG IRUHPRVW Nigerian citizens, have been held incommunicado for days without access to their families or legal practitioners of their choice, and under inhumane or deplorable conditions in brazen breach of the express provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as

NBA President, Olumide Akpata

amended), which presumes all suspects and Defendants innocent until proven guilty; prohibit the detention of citizens beyond 24-48 hours; forbid the subjection of Nigerian citizens to torture or to inhuman or degrading treatment; and mandates the Police and other law enforcement agencies to bring such persons to court within 24-48 hours. â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;It beggars belief that this conduct by the Nigeria Police, is coming on the heels of the #ENDSARS protests which were precipitated by the historical abuse of citizens E\ PHQ DQG RIĂ&#x20AC;FHUV RI WKH Nigeria Police, especially those of the now defunct Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), and the aftermath of which is yet to fully die down. â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;It is highly regrettable that the Police in particular, continues to carry on business as usual, despite being in the eye of the storm in recent times, and in disregard of the wide outpouring of condemnation by Nigerians at home and abroad, as well as foreign nationals and

international organisations about the misconduct of some of their RIĂ&#x20AC;FHUV â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;This gives the indication that the Police hierarchy has failed to get the message, and/or is paying lip service to the calls for holistic Police reforms. â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;The NBA once again calls on the Nigeria Police and the Attorneys-General of the various States, to immediately charge the suspects before courts of competent jurisdiction in accordance with contemporary requirements of the law, or to release them unconditionally. The wanton destruction of public buildings and private businesses witnessed in the past week, is highly regrettable. However, the cure for illegality, cannot be illegality. â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;I have asked the Chairpersons of NBA Branches across the country to immediately monitor Police Stations within their jurisdictions, to ascertain the extent of compliance of the Police with the fundamental rights provisions of the Constitution, to enable us take or facilitate adequate enforcement actions.â&#x20AC;&#x2122;

National Theatre N467.7m Fraud Allegation Case Adjourned Peter Taiwo An Ikeja Special Offences Court, Lagos, adjourned the case of Prince Benjamin Apugo and Yusuf Ahmed Atai, due to Prosecution Witness fear of coming to Lagos because of unrest in the city. The Prosecution counsel for the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC), E. Pereagbe informed the court of this development, that the witness who is also the Complainant could not make it to Lagos from Abuja, due to the feared unrest in the city. The Prosecutor however, asked for an adjourned date, stating that before the next adjourned date the unrest in Lagos would have settled, making it safer for the witness to appear. The duo alongside companies called Bencap Nigeria Limited and Technoexportstroy Nigeria Limited, are currently facing a 9-count charge bordering on conspiracy to steal and stealing, which is contrary to Section 390 and 516 of the Criminal

National Arts Theatre

Law of Lagos State 2003. The Defendants are alleged to have defrauded National Theatre in the sum of N467,737,014. According to the Petition dated March 6, 2012 titled â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Abandonment of Contract for the Fencing, Construction of five gates and Sand-filling at the National Theatre after Paymentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;, upon questions being asked at the budget defence before the Senate and House of Representatives Committees on how far we have gone on

the project, but still remains abandoned. After the briefing, the Committees requested for all the documents in respect of the project, and also requested us to write a reminder to you (EFCC) before they (Committees) would forward the issue to the House Committees on Corruption. Justice Oluwatoyin Taiwo, in view of the Prosecutorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s plea, adjourned the matter to the 2nd and 3rd of December, 2020, for continuation of trial.

A Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Prof Yemi Akinseye-George, is demanding a fee of N115 million from a Ă&#x20AC;UP 1DFHQQ 1LJHULD /WG for services rendered in recovering a debt. But, WKH FRPSDQ\ KDV Ă&#x20AC;OHG D counter-claim, insisting its contract with the SAN had HQGHG 7KH Ă&#x20AC;UP FODLPV the SAN misled it into overpaying him and is demanding a refund. What began as a cordial Lawyer-client relationship between Prof Yemi Akinseye-George, SAN and a company, Nacenn Nigeria Limited, has ended up a subject of litigation. The SAN sued WKH Ă&#x20AC;UP RYHU DOOHJHG unpaid professional fees of N115 million. He is praying the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, for an order to â&#x20AC;&#x153;attach and deductâ&#x20AC;? the sum from the balance in the companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s account, and to transfer it to his account. The money in the acFRXQW KH VDLG DUH LQĂ RZV from judgement sums received from the Federal Government, which he facilitated. %XW WKH FRPSDQ\ Ă&#x20AC;OHG a counter-claim, asking for a refund of N50 million which it claimed it overpaid the SAN, due to his "fraudulent misrepresentation". Akinseye-George, through his counsel Akinlolu Kehinde SAN, said the companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Chairman/Chief Executive 2IĂ&#x20AC;FHU WKH ODWH &KLHI Greg Ezulike, engaged him to help recover some long-standing debt of about N2billion owed the company by the Federal Government. The Claimant said he was engaged due to his expertise as a Professor of law, and experience in mediating between the government and the private sector, having also worked as a Special Assistant to three different Attorneys-General of the Federation. He said the late Chief Ezulike asked him to do all within his power to recover three judgementdebts worth about N2 billion, and was engaged via a February 28, 2018 letter. Akinseye-George said the Ă&#x20AC;UVW 'HIHQGDQW 1DFHQQ Nigeria) promised to pay him 10 percent of any money received from the Federal Government, on or before March 30, 2018. According to him, he immediately began ne-

Prof Yemi Akinseye-George, SAN

gotiations with relevant KLJK RIĂ&#x20AC;FLDOV LQ YDULRXV Ministries. He said he briefed his client about the developments at the expiration of the time given him. He said he was asked â&#x20AC;&#x153;to continue to carry out the assignmentâ&#x20AC;?, with the assurance that the promised 10 percent would be paid on the recovery of the debt. The SAN said he succeeded in recovering the funds. He said he was informed during a visit to the Ministry of Justice on June 4, 2018, that the government was about to pay some judgementcreditors and contractors. According to the Claimant, he subsequently signed a settlement agreement with the Ministry on the companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s behalf, which culminated in the SD\PHQW RI WKH Ă&#x20AC;UVW 1 million, after which the company paid him 10 percent (N10 million). Akinseye-George said he also recovered a second instalment of N150 million through the Ministry, and he was also paid 10 percent (N15 million). He said the debt repayment was eventually transferred to the Ministry of Finance, and he facilitated meetings between the UHOHYDQW RIĂ&#x20AC;FLDOV DQG WKH company's representatives. The SAN said the Finance Ministry formally took over the payment of the debt in April 2019, based on his efforts. Sadly, Chief Ezulike died on October 23, 2019, aged 83. Akinseye-George said the late Ezulikeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s son, Afam, called to reassure him that the company would honour his fatherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s commitment to him.

Nacenn Nigeria, in its statement of defence and counter-claim, said the suit cannot be maintained against it for non-disclosure of a reasonable cause of action. The Ă&#x20AC;UP VDLG LW ZRXOG XUJH the court either before or during the trial, to dismiss or strike out the claim. The Defendant said it was aware that, based on the February 28, 2018 letter of engagement, Prof Akinseye-George â&#x20AC;&#x153;was engaged to provide additional services to support WKH HIIRUWV RI RWKHU Ă&#x20AC;UPV already engaged by the Ă&#x20AC;UVW 'HIHQGDQW LQ UHODWLRQ to the same matterâ&#x20AC;?. The Defendant/counter-claimant, through its counsel Godwin Omoaka, SAN, said the letter of engagement â&#x20AC;&#x153;did not stipulate WKDW WKH Ă&#x20AC;UVW 'HIHQGDQW will pay the Claimant 10 percent of any payment received from the Federal Government on or before 30th March 2018â&#x20AC;?. The company said the SAN is rather indebted to it in the sum of N50million, â&#x20AC;&#x153;being excess fee paid to him in November 2019 following the Claimantâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s misrepresentation of due professional fees to the new management of the Ă&#x20AC;UVW 'HIHQGDQW GHPDQGing 20 percent (instead of agreed 10 percent) of the recovered sum of N500 million from the Federal Government in November 2019â&#x20AC;?. The company said it did not make a new promise to Prof Akinseye-George upon the death of its former Chairman/CEO, to pay him 20 percent of the recovered debt. Akinseye-George denied the allegation of fraud or misrepresentation.

03.11.2020

Is the Money Laundering ActValid? Introduction The Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2011 (MLA), as amended, is the pre-eminent legislative framework for combating money laundering in Nigeria. Apart from this statute (as amended in 2012) however, at least a couple of subsidiary legislations are also applicable. These are the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment (Designation of Non-Financial Institutions and other Related Matters) Regulations of 2013 and 2016, respectively. But, first, what is Money laundering?. According to Wikipedia, “It is the conversion or transfer of property; the concealment or disguising of the nature of the proceeds; the acquisition, possession or use of property, knowing that these are derived from criminal activity; or participating in or assisting the movement of funds to make the proceeds appear legitimate. Money obtained from certain crimes, such as drug trafficking is “dirty” and needs to be “cleaned” to appear to have been derived from legal activities, so that banks and other financial institutions will deal with it without suspicion”. Constitutional and Statutory Overview of Money Laundering in Nigeria Nigeria’s federal structure means that our Constitution has divided lawmaking powers between the National Assembly and State Houses of Assembly, in Section 4(2)-(3) & 4(6)-(7)(a) respectively. The implication of this was expounded in DOHERTY v BALEWA (1961)2 NSCC 248 @ 252 where the Supreme Court held that: “The Federal Parliament can legislate for the Federation only on those matters in respect of which it is specifically empowered to legislate under the Constitution”. This was amplified in TOGUN v OPUTA (2001)16 NWLR pt. 740 pg. 597 @ 644, where the Court of Appeal held that: “Nigeria is a Federal Republic with a Constitution in which the legislative powers of the National Assembly and the State Houses of Assembly, are clearly defined. We have the Exclusive and the Concurrent Lists, in which the National Assembly could legislate. This leaves the State Houses of Assembly to legislate exclusively on residual matters, not included in either the Exclusive or Concurrent Lists”. Who Can Regulate Money Laundering in Nigeria? This is the critical question, having regard to the aforesaid division of legislative powers under the Constitution. The MLA and its amendment were enacted by the National Assembly. The question is: where did the Assembly derive the powers to enact them? Is it contained in either the Exclusive Legislative List or the Concurrent Legislative List of the 1999 Constitution? The answer to this question necessitates a review of the aforesaid Legislative Lists contained in the Second Schedule Constitution – juxtaposing them with the provisions of the MLA. Starting with the latter, I believe that the following provisions thereof are problematic:-

Finance Minister, Zainab Ahmed

To arrive at a definitive answer, however, I believe we have to juxtapose with the provisions of Item 62 of the Exclusive Legislative List of the Constitution, which empowers the Assembly to regulate “trade and commerce, and, in particular (a) Trade and commerce between Nigeria and other countries, including import of commodities into and export of commodities from Nigeria, and trade and commerce between the States; (b) establishment of a purchasing authority with power to acquire for export or sale in world markets, such agricultural produce as may be designed by the National Assembly; (c) inspection of produce to be exported from Nigeria, and the enforcement of grades and standards of quality in respect of produce so inspected; (d) establishment of a body to enforce standard of goods and commodities offered for sale; (e) control of the prices of goods and commodities designated by the National Assembly as essential goods or commodities; and (f) registration of business names”. Identical provisions in Item 61 of the 1979 Constitution were construed by the Supreme Court in ATTORNEY-

- Section 1: which places a cap of (N5 million and N10 million) on cash payments to or from individuals or bodies corporate respectively – except through what the Act calls a financial institution as defined in Section 25 thereof; - Section 15 of the Act which formally prohibits money laundering in Nigeria, and specifies the four different ways in which it can be committed in relation to any fund or property (which is) the proceeds of an ‘unlawful act’ as defined under the Act; - Section 25 which defines “Designated Non-Financial Institution” as, inter alia, “dealers in jewellery, cars, luxury goods, hotels, casinos and supermarkets”. Apart from the foregoing, some key words used in the MLA are “transaction”, “fund” and”cash payment”; of the three, only ‘transaction’ is defined in the Act (in Section 25 thereof). Is the National Assembly competent to enact these provisions by reference to any clause in either the Exclusive or concurrent Legislative Lists of the Constitution? I believe the answer will depend on the meanings of “currency and legal tender” used in Item 15 of the Exclusive Legislative List of the Constitution.

“......IN MY VIEW, THE MLA IS ONLY APPLICABLE TO ABUJA, BY VIRTUE OF THE FACT THAT THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY LEGISLATES FOR THE FCT; AS FOR THE 36 STATES, THE ACT IS INAPPLICABLE AND, IT IS UP TO THEIR RESPECTIVE HOUSES OF ASSEMBLY - IF THEY SO WISH - TO ENACT THEIR OWN MONEY LAUNDERING LAWS.....”

GENERAL OF OGUN STATE v ABERUAGBA (1985)1 NWLR pt. 3 pg. 395, where the court held that the trade and commerce power of the National Assembly is limited to sub-items (a) to (f) of that Item. In other words, that while international trade and commerce, as well as inter-State trade and commerce were exclusively reserved for the National Assembly (and, inferentially, criminal offences arising therefrom, vide Item 68 of Part 1 and Item 2(a) of Part III of the 2nd Schedule of the Constitution), trade and commerce within a State (as well as crimes arising therefrom) are Residual matters, reserved for the State Houses of Assembly. I believe the implication of this decision – in so far as the provisions of the MLA can be construed as regulating trade and commerce – is that they (or, at least parts thereof) might be ultra vires the National Assembly, vide DOHERTY v BALEWA, supra. However, as previously stated, this depends on the proper construction or interpretation of Item 15 of the Exclusive Legislative List of the Constitution, specifically the words “currency and legal tender” used therein. Is regulating the amounts of cash which can be paid pursuant to a transaction outside a FI or DNFI, incidental or supplemental to the power of the National Assembly to regulate “currency and legal tender” within the contemplation of Item 68 of the Exclusive Legislative List of the Constitution? That is the key question. To answer it, we may be guided by the definition of that phrase in “Federalism in Nigeria under the Presidential Constitution”, 2nd edition page 43, where Prof. Ben Nwabueze, SAN, opined that: “An incidental matter is one which is concomitant or attendant upon another, something which is an accompaniment or adjunct of another. The relation between the two is one of ancillary to a main matter; both must be closely connected to justify to inference that implying one is an incident of the other”. Assuming - without conceding - that Item 15 of the Exclusive Legislative List empowers the National Assembly to control how much cash is paid in transactions outside so-called FIs and DNFIs, it is surely arguable that, for the foregoing reasons, I believe that these provisions are general, whilst those of Item 62 of the same List are special, the latter prevail, on the principle that special things derogate from general things: see ATT-GEN OF THE FED. v ABUBAKAR (2007) All FWLR pt. 375 pg. 405 @ 472E and 524, S.C. I believe the referenced suspect clauses in the MLA (Sections 1, 15 and the inclusion of dealers in cars, jewellery, luxury goods, hotels, casinos and supermarkets within the definition of DNFIs in Section 25) means that, at the very least, the blue-pencil rule ought to be applied to remove them from the Act; thereafter, if whatever remains can stand, then they will survive. However, if they cannot stand on their own, the entire MLA ought to be invalidated: see ATT-GEN OF ABIA STATE v ATT-GEN OF THE FEDERATION (2002)5 S.C.M. 1. I submit that the foregoing is also applicable to Section 15(6) of the Act: its purported categorisation of “any criminal act specified in (the) Act or any other law in Nigeria” as the predicate offences (or “unlawful act” to use the language of the Act) in relation to which one can be accused of money laundering under the Act, is obviously too sweeping, as some of those offences are clearly ultra vires the National Assembly. Examples in this regard include murder, grievous bodily injury, theft, forgery, etc. None of these is a federal offence; I believe that for them to now acquire that character merely because a person is allegedly connected with “any fund or property” which constitutes the proceeds of those crimes, is simply far-fetched. Can they be justified even under Item 15 of the Exclusive Legislative List? I doubt it. Conclusion Suffice it to say that, in my view, the MLA is only applicable to Abuja, by virtue of the fact that the National Assembly legislates for the FCT; as for the 36 States, the Act is inapplicable and, it is up to their respective Houses of Assembly - if they so wish - to enact their own Money Laundering Laws, in much the same way that the Administration of Criminal Justice Act and the Child Rights Act are restricted to Abuja, but can be domesticated through separate municipal legislations enacted by the States.

03.11.2020

Sovereign Bonds: The Debt Sustainability Dilemma in the Light of the Covid-19 Pandemic This article by Simisola Eyisanmi paints a rather gloomy picture of Nigeria’s economic situation, compounded by our dwindling oil revenues and the fallout from the Covid-19 pandemic; predicting that it may result in a debt crisis, and Subnational and Sovereign Bond defaults in the very near future. Some suggestions as to the steps which may be taken in terms of solutions, are also proferred Introduction The Covid-19 spread was with alarming speed, infecting millions and bringing economic activity to a near standstill as countries imposed restrictions to halt the spread of the virus. For an emerging economy such as Nigeria that has barely recovered from the 2016 economic recession, the odds are not just higher, but the pandemic may just be the catalyst to propel it into another brutal and painful recession. Like most oil-dependent economies already saddled with dwindling oil revenues as a result of the slowdown in global economic activity, the economic fall out of Covid-19 will most likely aggravate Nigeria’s unhealthy debt service to revenue ratios. Urgent and aggressive policy action is therefore required, to be taken to avert the debt crisis that may arise as a consequence of the Covid-19 pandemic. The Global Economic Impact The tumultuous effect of the pandemic in Nigeria, is heightened by its over-dependence on oil for its export earnings. The drastic decline in global economic activities due to the pandemic, has, however, led to a steep drop in Nigeria’s crude oil revenues, which accounts for one-third of the public revenue in 2020. As of March 2020, the Senate put Nigeria's total debt profile at N33 trillion. Given the decline in net private capital flows as a result of the pandemic, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved Nigeria’s request for emergency financial assistance in the sum of SDR 2,454.5 million (US$ 3.4 billion, 100 percent of quota) under the Rapid Financing Instrument (RFI), to meet Nigeria’s urgent balance of payment needs. An additional $3.5 billion is also expected from other multilateral lenders. The Covid-19 pandemic has thus, led to a dire review of the country’s revenue expectations and a downward revision of the 2020 fiscal budget. Furthermore, the antecedent effect of the pandemic will include a deficit in fiscal funding, debt sustainability issues, capital flows, and revenue pressures. Government and Corporate Bonds: Debt Sustainability A Bond is a debt security in which the authorised issuer owes the holders a debt, and depending on the terms of the bond, is obliged to pay interest (the coupon) and/or to repay the principal at a later date, termed maturity. Federal Government Bonds are currently the largest component of the Nigerian domestic bond market – representing about 87% of the market whilst Subnational and Corporate Bonds represent about 13% of the market, which incidentally accounts for the illiquid Subnational bonds market. Sovereign and Subnational Bonds Notwithstanding the assurances of the Federal Government, there is the looming apprehension that the economic fallout of the pandemic may very well trigger Subnational and Sovereign Bond defaults in the very near future. In the case of States and Federal Government agencies, Section 256 of the Investment and Securities Act, 2007 provides that: “Upon a default by a body to meet its obligations under a bond issuance, and after the expiration of six months therefrom, the trustees of the bond shall present the copy of the irrevocable letter of authority/guarantee for repayment issued by the Accountant General of the State/Federal Government to the Accountant General of the Federation to deduct at source from the statutory allocation due to the issuer, for the purpose of redeeming any outstanding obligations”. Given the uncertainties around revenue generation, a pending fiscal deficit, and the country’s inability to fund its FAAC monthly allocations to State Governments, the likelihood of a default in State and Federal Government bonds, is imminent. The Irrevocable Standing Payment Order issued by the Accountant General of the State/the Federal Government is therefore, of no consequence where the revenue generation is insufficient to meet the debt obligations. In the absence of a specific legal framework to address a sovereign’s debt default, commercial terms and arrangements are often undertaken with bondholders to restructure the debt obligations. The Covid-19 pandemic crisis makes a default on sovereign debt more likely than not, and it is on account of this prospect that Nigeria’s Finance Minister has opened talks with multilateral lenders to suspend debt repayments for 2020. Where agreement cannot be reached, and a default is declared by the bondholders, Nigeria may face the same debt crisis experienced by Greece in 2015, when it almost declared bankruptcy because it failed to pay the sum of €1.5bn to the International Monetary Fund when it was due. The debacle left Greece on the brink of collapse. In the event of a default by the Federal Government on its Eurobonds, bondholders will either have to give up future profits or enter into decades-long litigation that is costly and undesirable. The key Bonds terms relating to enforcement and renegotiation matters that will have to be critically examined, to address the extent by which the Nigerian government can seek a suspension of interest payments and restructure the debt are:Enforcement The Argentine debt crisis of 2011 and its aftermath, depicts the

DG, Debt Management Oﬃce Nigeria, Ms Patience Oniha

major shift in the legal framework of international sovereign debt markets. Prior to the Argentine crisis, defaulting governments were protected by the principle of sovereign immunity, and the absence of a supranational legal authority to enforce payment. However, following the default in Argentina, a suit was filed by dozens of hedge funds in New York against the Argentine government. 15 years later, these holdout creditors obtained a favourable court ruling, that compelled the government to pay over $10 billion as settlement. In other words, the veil of sovereign immunity has been pierced, and cannot be relied upon to prevent enforcement by the courts. Furthermore, debtors frequently waive sovereign immunity in the commercial documents governing the bonds. Thus, creditors will be able to obtain foreign judgements against them. While this means that creditors can institute a lawsuit, it does not mean that creditors can collect on their debts. Renegotiation Clauses In the event of a default, the creditors can, as a group, increase their collective welfare by giving the sovereign a partial relief. The contract terms that facilitate the ability of creditors to grant sovereign partial relief in dire times, are referred to as Collective Action Clauses (CACs) and classified below. The CACs permit bondholders to modify the terms of the bond, through collective action: i) Non-payment modiﬁcation This provision governs the modification of the non-payment term, that is, terms other than principal, interest, and time of payment. Typically, some fraction of bondholders between 50 and 75%, can vote to alter the terms and bind all of the bondholders to the revised terms. ii) Payment modiﬁcation This clause governs the modification of payment terms, but it tends to vary based on whether the bonds are governed by New York or English law. Since the early 2000s, bonds issued under New York law allow that the payment terms can be modified by a vote of 75% of the bonds. In bonds under English law, there is frequently a requirement that there be a physical

“GIVEN THE UNCERTAINTIES AROUND REVENUE GENERATION, A PENDING FISCAL DEFICIT, AND THE COUNTRY’S INABILITY TO FUND ITS FAAC MONTHLY ALLOCATIONS TO STATE GOVERNMENTS, THE LIKELIHOOD OF A DEFAULT IN STATE AND FEDERAL GOVERNMENT BONDS, IS IMMINENT”

meeting of the holders. Typically, 50% is the quorum for the first meeting and 75% of those holders, have to vote for there to be a binding modification of the payment terms. iii) Aggregation The typical modification clause, operates within a single bond issue. Aggregation provisions operate across all of the sovereign’s bond issuances. The typical aggregation clause requires that a minimum percentage, typically 66.7% of the bonds of a particular issuance, agree to a proposed modification of payment terms. The aggregation clause also requires agreement among the bondholders aggregated across all of the issuances of the sovereign (typically, at the 85% level, in terms of the monetary value of all issuances). If both conditions are met, then the restructuring agreement becomes mandatory for all bondholders. It is also important to note that, the concept of “force majeure”, “state of necessity” and “fundamental change of circumstances” is inscribed in the 1969 Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, as well as in several national legislation, mainly regarding contracts. These legal principles also form part of international common law and are therefore, applicable to all debtors and creditors without it being necessary to prove their consent to be bound by them or the illegality of the debt. The United Nations International Law Commission defines force majeure as follows: “The impossibility to act legally (...) is the situation that arises when unforeseen circumstances beyond the control of the person or persons concerned absolutely prevent them from respecting their international obligation, by virtue of the principle that one cannot do the impossible.” The Preparatory Committee of the Conference for Codification (The Hague, 1930) accepts the applicability of the force majeure argument to the debt, because, according to the Committee, “the State is held responsible if, through a legislative provision [...] it suspends or modifies total or partial service [of the debt], unless it is forced to do so by financial necessities”. International jurisprudence explicitly recognises this argument, which legitimises a suspension of debt repayment to both private and public creditors such as States, the IMF, and the World Bank. Subnational Default About N109 billion of public domestic debt, is expected to mature by Q4 2020. Despite expecting marginal economic recovery from the last quarter of 2020, the expected impact of economic shocks is likely to send panic signals to bondholders who apprehend a credit default. During the 2015 and 2016 economic recession, there was a similar situation of potential defaults on bank loans by State Governments, but the Federal Government launched a debt-restructuring programme for about 23 States through the issuance of N574.78 billion in bonds, aimed at reducing their debt service obligations. Also, States like Bauchi and Niger opted for the restructuring of their bonds, at that time. Once investors begin to perceive uncertainty in the ability of the States to repay bondholders, there will be more investors scrambling to pull money from the subnational secondary market which is already considered relatively illiquid, and causing spreads to widen. This may further increase market yields, thereby making any delayed attempt at restructuring costlier for the States. Since debt markets are a source of financing projects, planned infrastructure projects in States may experience a slowdown. Available Remedies In Nigeria, the Issuance prospectus in defining default events, often stipulates the remedies and enforcement of remedies. Besides, the engagement of Trustees to the Issue, ensures the Attorney-General of the Federation deducts from the statutory allocation of the State, such amounts as are specified by the Trustees as required to be paid into the Sinking Fund to redeem any outstanding obligations. The Investment and Securities Act 2007, also permits suits, actions, or proceedings as may be expedient. The State Government will also have to file such default, with the Securities and Exchange Commission. However, it should be noted that subnational bond defaults are rare. According to Moody’s in its 2019 report, in the past 48 years, there have been only 113 defaults in the total amount of a little over $72 billion across all sectors in the United States of America. Conclusion It is advisable that subnationals immediately commence plans to restructure existing loans, to create more fiscal space. Consideration should therefore be made, to negotiate debt service moratoriums for subnational issuers on foreign currency loans owed to bilateral and multilateral lenders, to ease debt service costs and fiscal burden on the States. Simisola Eyisanmi, Legal Practitioner, Senior Associate and Head of the Financial Markets Group, Chris Ogunbanjo LP, Lagos

8/COVER

03.11.2020

#ENDSARS, Hoarding Palliatives, Fining

The Penultimate week was probably a defining one for the #ENDSARS Protests. While an impoverished mass of people stormed warehouses to forcibly recover Covid-19 palliative materials, the Nigerian Broadcasting Commission (NBC) without any justification, levied a N3 million fine each on three of Nigeria’s most credible and authoritative media houses, ARISE TV, AIT and CHANNELS TV. Nigeria’s foremost human rights crusader, Femi Falana, SAN, Emmanuel Onwubiko and Shehu Abdulwaheed Adisa interrogate the complex issues surrounding the #ENDSARS Protests, the role of the Nigeria Police, Army and thugs; whether the purported looting of palliatives was an act of the people taking back what rightfully belongs to them, or a criminal act; and whether the NBC had any justification whatsoever to levy any fine on these media houses

Peaceful #ENDSARS Protests: How Violence Was Introduced by Reactionary Forces Introduction The #ENDSARS protests were well organised in a peaceful manner, in all parts of the country. In response to the five-point demand of the Protesters, the Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Mohammed Adamu, disbanded the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), set up the Special Weapon and Tactics Team (SWAT) and promised to carry out other reforms. Since all promises to reform the SARS were not fulfilled in the past, the Protesters remained adamant. In a desperate move to halt the campaign, Northern Governors claimed that SARS should not be abolished. Others tried to introduce religion, in order to divide the Protesters. But, the divide and rule program did not work, as the #ENDSARS protests spread across the nation like a bush fire in the harmattan. Even though some Protesters were allegedly killed in Abuja, Benin and Ogbomoso, the campaigners refused to be intimidated or provoked. They organised night vigils in some cities, to mourn their colleagues who had been mowed down. Thousands attended the memorial programmes, which were very peaceful. The popular and well coordinated campaign of the youths, was a surprise to all and sundry. The Federal Government became confused, and was unable to respond to the leaderless revolution of the Protesters. Hence, violence was introduced by some interest groups. But, as the government lost control of the monopoly of violence, it turned round to accuse the campaigners of allowing hoodlums to hijack their peaceful protests. Duty of the Police to Provide Adequate Security for Protesters Apart from domesticating the African Charter on Human and People's Rights, the Nigerian Government has entrenched fundamental rights in Chapter 4 of the Constitution. Other laws which have prohibited illegal arrest and detention and torture, have become part of the corpus juris of the country. Having completely humanised the criminal justice system, Nigeria has institutionalised a human rights law regime in line with democratic ethos. Regrettably, the aforesaid human rights laws are observed in breach by the Police and other security agencies, as well as the Judiciary. In particular, the accountability mechanisms put in place have not been to work. For instance, Section 34 of the

Nigeria Police Force in political rallies, processions and meetings shall be limited to the provision of adequate security as provided in subsection (1) of this section". Even though President Muhammadu Buhari declared that Nigerian youths were entitled to protest peacefully, he did not direct the Inspector-General to protect the #ENDSARS Protesters. Thus, in utter breach of the law, the Nigeria Police Force did not provide any form of security for the #ENDSARS Protesters in any part of the country. As if that was not enough, the Police did not arrest the thugs who unleashed violent attacks on the Protesters. Having conceded that the cause of the #ENDSARS campaign was just, the Federal Government ought to have prevented lumpen elements from hijacking the protests..

Chairman/CEO, ARISE Television, Prince Nduka Obaigbena

“SOME OF THE ARRESTED THUGS CONFESSED THAT THEY WERE HIRED AT JABI PARK IN ABUJA, TO UNLEASH VIOLENCE ON THE PROTESTERS”

Administration of Criminal Justice Act provides that designated Magistrates and Judges shall visit and inspect all Police stations and other detention facilities, at least once a month. But, due to noncompliance with the law the nation has continued to witness an increasing wave of illegal arrest, detention, extortion and extrajudicial killing of criminal suspects in the custody of the Nigeria Police Force and other security forces. Hence, young people decided to wage the #ENDSARS campaign against Police brutality. The fundamental rights of the Nigerian people to freedom of expression and assembly guaranteed by Sections 39 and 40 of the Constitution, have been said to include the right to hold political meetings, rallies and marches. IGP v ANPP (2008) 12 WRN 65. The judicial recognition of the right of the Nigerian to protest for or against the Government, led to the amendment of the Electoral Act 2010. Specifically, Section 94 of the Act stipulates that: "Notwithstanding any provision in the Police Act, the Public Order Act and any regulation made thereunder or any other law to the contrary, the role of the

Use of Thugs to Disrupt Peaceful Protests A critical review of the #ENDSARS campaign, does not justify the allegation that the Protesters provided opportunity for hoodlums to hijack their protests. As a matter of fact, there are indisputable facts to prove that, the Police and other security agencies allowed many thugs to introduce violence to mar the peaceful protests of the #ENDSARS campaigners. Not a few people have concluded that the thugs who attacked the Protesters, were sponsored by the government. Some of the arrested thugs confessed that they were hired at Jabi Park in Abuja, to unleash violence on the Protesters. Another group of armed thugs in a convoy of buses and cars led by unmarked official vehicles, were captured on camera as they shot at Protesters in Abuja. Twice, the cars of some of the Protesters which were parked, were set on fire by the well guided thugs. None of the arsonists was arrested by the Police. The State Security Service denied involvement in the criminal activities of the thugs. A retired security officer corroborated the official denial, by disclosing that it was a Senator that hired the thugs who unleashed violent attack on the Protesters in Abuja. At about the same time, the Lagos State Government promptly denied involvement in the savage attack of the peaceful Protesters by thugs in the premises of the Lagos State House of Assembly Complex. But, since the Government has a legal obligation to investigate and bring the thugs and their sponsors to book, the

COVER /9

03.11.2020

Media Houses: Symptoms of a Failing Nation? security agency cannot be allowed to wash off its hands like Pontius Pilate. However, having allowed a free rein of thuggery, other criminal elements joined the fray. It was at that stage, that the Lagos State Government declared a curfew. Instead of allowing the Police to enforce the curfew, the Nigerian Army deployed troops to the Lekki Tollgate in Lagos at about 7pm on Tuesday, October 20. Without any basis whatsoever, the soldiers rained live bullets on the unarmed Protesters. In order to hide the identity of the soldiers who took part in the premeditated murderous attack, the light at the venue was illegally disconnected. A few hours later, the Nigerian Army Headquarters issued a statement, wherein it denied the involvement of soldiers in the attack. Regrettably, the official denial of involvement of the Army in the attack, and the report credited to the Lagos State Governor to the effect that no Protester was killed by the soldiers, sparked off violent attacks in and outside the country. While taking advantage of the peaceful protests against the violent attack of the soldiers, hoodlums engaged in looting and burning of properties. Since the Lagos State Police Command does not have canisters of teargas, rubber bullets and water cannon with which to disperse the tumultuous crowd, scores of people were killed while others were arrested. In reaction to such killing, there was a total breakdown of law and order as street gangs attacked some Police officers and burnt a number of Police stations. The palliatives stored in a warehouse in Lagos State, was broken into and carted away by the poor. Having confirmed that the security forces had been overwhelmed in Lagos State, the revolt of the youths spread to other States. Apart from looting and destruction of public and private properties, the correctional centres in Edo, Delta and Ondo States were flung open for prison inmates to escape. Other warehouses where palliatives were stored in many States were attacked by thousands of people, who took away bags of rice and other food items. But, having been sufficiently exposed, the Army has since admitted that soldiers were at the Lekki Tollgate, but that they did not fire at the Protesters. The Army also claimed that the soldiers were involved in enforcing the curfew, on the invitation of Governor Jide Sanwoolu. The belated justification for the presence of soldiers at the Lekki Tollgate, is an admission of the illegality of the operation. The afterthought of the Nigerian Army should be questioned, as only the President has the constitutional power to invite the armed forces in aid of civil authorities, in the event of an insurrection. The protest which had been acknowledged to be peaceful by the Government could not be equated to an insurrection, to have warranted the involvement of soldiers. Assuming without conceding that the soldiers were deployed to enforce, the law why did they not attack the hoodlums? Why did they launch a violent the attack on the Protesters, two hours before the commencement of the curfew? Apart from the misleading claim that the troops were deployed on the orders of Governor Sanwoolu, the President could not have deployed the troops in view of the case of Femi Falana SAN v Chief of Army Staff (FHC/L/CS/1939/19), wherein the Federal High Court had declared Operation Positive Identification exercise illegal and

Chairman/CEO, AIT, Dr. Raymond Dokpesi

unconstitutional. In granting an order of perpetual injunction restraining the Respondents and their agents from conducting any nationwide military operations without compliance with the extant provisions of Sections 217 (2) (A), (B), (c), 218 (1), (3) & (4) of the 1999 Constitution as amended, Justice Aikawa held that “it would be outside the powers of the 3rd Respondent (the Nigerian Army) for it to parade the streets in the rest of the country, and demand citizens to show their identity cards and the like. If there is any security need for that, my view is that it should be left in the hands of Police which is the security agency vested with these functions, as spelt out by Section 4 of the Police Act”. It is unfortunate that those who were hired to attack Protesters without restraint turned against the Government, by burning public properties including Police stations. They also destroyed the properties of private citizens, and corporate organisations. The hoodlums also engaged in looting and killing Police officers. These criminal activities were committed, in spite of the curfew imposed by a number of State Governments. In condemning the orgy of violence that engulfed the nation, the Alliance on Surviving Covid-19 and Beyond (ASCAB), appealed to the aggrieved youths not to substitute perceived State terrorism for individual terrorism. Hoodlums Hijacking Protests Section 227 of the Constitution has banned the recruitment, training and use of thugs for any political objective. Furthermore, the Electoral Act has criminalised the use of thugs by political parties and party leaders. But, in defiance of the both laws, members of the political class regularly recruit and arm thugs to harass and intimidate political opponents during elections. After the elections, the arms are not recovered, while the thugs are abandoned by their godfathers. Having been used and dumped, the thugs turn to armed robbery, kidnapping and banditry. The so-called hoodlums who purportedly hijacked the peaceful protests of the youths, are otherwise called thugs or area

boys during elections. So, let the political leaders that have armed the hoodlums, stop the hypocrisy of condemning them for committing arson and looting. It is a well known fact, that some thugs are members of the ruling party in each State of the Federation. They commit serious criminal offences, including murder, but they are usually shielded from prosecution by the political leaders. During the Covid-19 restrictions of movement, some parts of Lagos State were taken over by a number of gangs. Some landlord associations had to contribute money to buy peace in the State, at the material time. But, as soon as the restriction was lifted, the challenge of the street boys was not addressed. It is time the threat to law and order by such lumpen elements, was taken up by the Lagos State Government. We equally call on the Federal Government, to effectively ban the recruitment and arming of thugs by political parties and political leaders

“IN ORDER TO HIDE THE IDENTITY OF THE SOLDIERS WHO TOOK PART IN THE PREMEDITATED MURDEROUS ATTACK, THE LIGHT AT THE VENUE WAS ILLEGALLY DISCONNECTED”

in the country. Although the looting of goods by criminal groups cannot be justified in any civilised society, it is submitted that it is going to be difficult to prove the offence of stealing against poor people who removed palliatives from the warehouses and distributed them. Under the Criminal Code, the offence of stealing is committed when a person takes another person's property without permission or legal right, and without intending to return it. In the instant case, the palliatives are not the properties of the State Governments, but bought for the poor and vulnerable people by the private sector. Since they were not bought by the Government, it is impossible to prove stealing against the poor that the palliatives were meant for. In 2016, a poor man, Roman Ostriakov, was convicted by an Italian court for stealing cheese and sausages worth €4.07 (£3; $4.50) from a supermarket. But, in setting aside the conviction, the Supreme Court of Cassation in Italy held that stealing small quantities of food to satisfy a vital need for food, did not constitute a crime. In justifying its decision the Court said that :"The condition of the Defendant and the circumstances in which the seizure of merchandise took place, prove that he took possession of that small amount of food in the face of an immediate and essential need for nourishment, acting therefore, in a state of necessity". With respect to the removal and distribution of the palliatives, the poor who are charged with stealing may plead that they were in a state of necessity. But, such defence will however, not avail those who stole properties other than palliatives. In other words, those who stole the properties of the Government and private citizens, are advised to return them without any delay. Failure to do so, may lead to the successful prosecution of such suspects. Conclusion From the foregoing it is indubitably clear that the Federal Government is to blame for introducing violence into the peaceful protests of the #ENDSARS campaigners. By not providing adequate protection for the Protesters as stipulated by the law, the Police deliberately abdicated its statutory responsibility. By allowing thugs to attack and kill unarmed Protesters, the Police and other security agencies aided and abetted the criminal elements. By firing live bullets on unarmed Protesters, and the Army and Police set out to commit murder. The situation was compounded by the brutal killing of peaceful Protesters by soldiers, under the pretext of enforcing a curfew which is the responsibility of the Police. The authorities of the Nigeria Police Force are not unaware that, riots and violent protests may occur from time to time. Hence, they ought to have acquired teargas, rubber bullets and water cannons. In the absence of such crowd control equipment, the Army and Police engaged in firing live bullets which led to the death of many Protesters. Police stations which were not properly secured, were overrun and set aside by unarmed youths. In the process, some Policemen were gruesomely murdered. The Federal Government is vicariously liable, for the official negligence that led to the destruction of the Police stations and killing of Policemen. The cont'd on page 10

10/COVER

03.11.2020

#ENDSARS, Hoarding Palliatives, Fining Media Houses: Symptoms of a Failing Nation? cont'd from page 9

rise of impunity, lacklustre and an unreliable media. Society plays an important role, in ensuring accountability over the content delivered. An informed society can vet the legitimacy of various media sources, and by so doing, push aside false news. The public should rationally weigh in on the accuracy of published data, by condemning false news. The future of democratic pluralism and the defence of human rights, are dependent on the right of all citizens to receive reliable and useful information.

implication is that those who lost their family members and goods during the protest, are entitled to reparation because the Federal Government owes it a duty to protect the life and property of every person living in any part of Nigeria. Femi Falana, SAN, Human Rights Crusader; Recipient of the Bernard Simmons Award of the International Bar Association

Nigeria’s Dilemma, Dialectics of Media Freedoms Emmanuel Onwubiko “If you look like you’re expecting a ﬁght, you will get a ﬁght” - Richard Templar (The Rules of People) Smarting from a weeklong popular ‘uprising' by the young people of Nigeria, angry at the “insufficiencies”, “inefficiencies” and “rudderless” and ‘directionless" leadership techniques of those who wield political power in Nigeria, which culminated in the street protests under the aegis of #ENDSARS, the Muhammadu Buhari-led administration, rather then appear reconciliatory, is poised for a needless fight with millions of Nigerian social media users. Freedom of Expression The Buhari’s government through the bellicose Minister of Information, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has in the last couples of years been fixated with the exercise by Nigerians in their millions of social media freedoms and how to curtail them, just as the government generally appears unfriendly to the media and has done everything under the sun to undermine the enjoyment by Nigerians of the constitutionally guaranteed freedoms of expression as encapsulated in Section 39 of the 1999 Constitution. That provision of the grundnorm provides: "Every person shall be entitled to freedom of expression, including freedom to hold opinions and to receive and impart ideas and information without interference". Twice, the All Progressives Congress (APC)led government in Abuja, had through their ‘Foot Solders’ in the National Assembly sponsored bills targeted at whittling down media freedoms, but on those occasions, the popular will of the Nigerian people overwhelmingly moved against those brazen attempts to muzzle the press. Undeterred by the failure to railroad those bad set of legislations against media freedoms into law through the legislative processes, the government has now began using the backdoors typical of dictators, by falling back on the aftermath of the violence unleashed by sponsored misguided criminal elements who disrupted the peaceful protests by the Youths of Nigeria, in a bid to check the exercise of the constitutional right of media freedoms and duty imposed by the Constitution on media workers by virtue of the Supreme Law on the running of a free press in Nigeria, as captured in Section 22 which states thus: "The press, radio, television and other agencies of the mass media shall at all times be free to uphold the fundamental objectives contained in this Chapter and highlight the responsibility and accountability of the Government to the people". Muzzling the Media So, in the wake of the issues that came up during the nationwide #ENDSARS Protects, and especially the broadcast via the social media by some victims of the unprovoked violent attacks on peaceful protesters on October 20th, 2020 at the Lekki Tollgate in Lagos by the Army, the government slammed heavy sanctions against African Independent Television (AIT), Arise Television and Channels TV, for airing the violent attacks on the protesters, without editing out any aspect. What President Muhammadu Buhari tried to achieve by muzzling the media is

Chairman/CEO, Channels TV, John Momoh nothing short of extinguishing the oxygen of democracy, because a democracy without the freedom of expression and media is a vulnerable democracy, states Sarah Nyakio is a well written essay. She wrote as follows: “As the world celebrates the 26th edition of World Press Freedom Day on May 3, 2019, there will be many opportunities to reflect on the state of the practice of journalism. Media, since time immemorial, has played a crucial role in bringing the dream of democracy within reach, ensuring the realisation of a government of the people, by the people and for the people. Media platforms across the globe have played a crucial role in fostering a democratic and just society through independent, factual and well-investigated reporting. Despite the utility of media not being in question, government and an uninformed society have presented hurdles.

“......THE GOVERNMENT SLAMMED HEAVY SANCTIONS AGAINST AFRICAN INDEPENDENT TELEVISION (AIT), ARISE TELEVISION AND CHANNELS TV, FOR AIRING THE VIOLENT ATTACKS ON THE PROTESTERS, WITHOUT EDITING OUT ANY ASPECT”

Governments, in developed and developing countries, have opted to silence the media, more so, in situations where underhand activities thrive”. The killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi brought into sharp focus a harsh and sad reality, in which the media and its freedom is curtailed by forces that appear to have no limitations. Crippled by internal and external factors, the media in Africa has fallen short of its objective to consistently champion the truth, and has inadvertently contributed to the state of failed nations across the continent. Many African nations have endured authoritarian rule for decades, with such governments extending their tentacles into media operations. Exclusion, diminished space as witnessed in South Sudan where journalists have disappeared, and the media are weak and incapable of standing up for their rights. In Kenya, the government barred the media from broadcasting the opposition party’s self-appointment into the Presidency. Four TV channels were shut down at the start of 2018, for defying the President’s ban on live coverage of opposition leader, Raila Odinga’s mock inauguration as the people’s President. Hatred for journalists has degenerated into violence, contributing to an increase in fear, according to the 2019 World Press Freedom Index compiled by Reporters without Borders (RSF). The number of countries regarded as safe, where journalists can work freely and safely, continues to decline, while authoritarian regimes continue to tighten their grip on the media. Such governments have tried to limit freedom of expression, and to control information that might portray them in a negative light. In March, Burundi extended the ban on Voice of America and BBC. Policies, such as a tax on social media in Uganda, have negatively impacted the media, as financial constraints have constrained the ease in which information is gathered and disseminated. The lack of financial independence, also leaves the media at the mercy of financiers. Financial instability has crippled media platforms and adversely affected aspects such as independence. Governments whose media freedom credentials do not pass, muster together with a media illiterate society; have flowered the

Importance of the Media Channels such as African Uncensored and The Elephant, continue to pioneer pathways towards independent and credible reports that show that independent media are alive and well. Documentaries such as the ‘Profiteers’ and ‘Inspector Fisi’ have spearheaded the path towards a brighter tomorrow. The media, despite the harsh conditions they are forced to operate in, still have the potential to independently spearhead the realisation of a democratic society. Such steps by channels such as Africa Uncensored, continue to breathe hope into the lungs of a society struggling to live in a not so democratic environment. Today acts as a reminder to governments, on the need to respect their commitment to press freedom, and is also a day of reflection among media professionals about issues of press freedom. Just as importantly, World Press Freedom Day, is a day of support for media who are targets for the restraint of press freedom. It is also a day of remembrance for those journalists who lost their lives in the pursuit of a story. It is in all our interest to build societies that fight for freedom of expression, and that of the media. If in the next 10 or 20 years journalism diminishes as the State would prefer, it will undermine democracy and promote dictator governments. When freedom of expression and safety of journalists are protected, the media will play an important role in preventing conflict and promoting democracy. SDG 16.10 on public access to information and fundamental freedoms, cannot be achieved without an independent media which can help in achieving all SDGs. Legal Scholars have rightly held that, one key tenet of a liberal democracy, the dominant form of government today, is the separation of powers into the various independent branches of government, usually in the form of the legislature that makes the laws, a judiciary that interprets and applies the law, and an executive that carries out the administration and operations of governing. These intellectuals argued that societies in the past were relatively small and citizens were able to engage face-to-face or via handwritten messages, in their deliberation and decision-making process. Then they stated that as populations grew larger, participation in a democracy required mediation, that is communication is now mediated. The scholars who wrote extensively about media and DEMOCRACY stated thus: "The earliest mass media was the newspaper, followed by the radio and television, and today, the Internet. Because of its emerging function as a watchdog that monitors the running of the nation by exposing excesses and corruption, and holding those in power accountable, the media was regarded as the fourth estate, supplementing the three branches of government by providing checks and balances". Also, these intellectuals are in agreement that the media also plays a more basic role, as a provider of information necessary for rational debate. Hear them: "A healthy functioning democracy is predicated on the electorate making informed choices, and this in turn, rests on the quality of information that they receive. The media, as an institution, has for a long time enjoyed the position as a trusted primary source of news and information. Due to the enlarging population, it has become no longer possible for every citizen to participate directly in the democratic process. This led to the representational form of democracy, where representatives speak and act on behalf of individuals. The media, in this environment, took on the role of being a voice of the cont'd on page 11

COVER /11

03.11.2020

#ENDSARS, Hoarding Palliatives, Fining Media Houses: Symptoms of a Failing Nation? cont'd from page 10

people to those in government". This evolution of the media into a place where the public can participate in the democratic process, prompted Dahlgrens (1995) to separate the mediated public sphere into four dimensions, in order to understand it better. Still on the import of the media of mass communication and how the fourth estate of the realm advances democracy and human rights, scholars state that: "The media can be studied as an institution. Is the media independent or State owned? Do they serve the public’s interest, or a narrow range of interests belonging to the owners of the media? Are government funded and government regulated media institutions used for public service, or are they propaganda mouthpieces? When private corporations own the media, are they furthering their own commercial interests or the public’s?" Then they responded that in the face of these developments, questions have also been raised about the media’s representation of the public. Because journalists, and by extension the media, are seen now as a representative of the public, questions are raised over whether there is a wide enough range of opinions to represent the public’s interests. As the media becomes increasingly commercial, there are also questions about the quality of the news and information, which may be compromised when the media focus more on entertainment to retain their audiences’ attention. Entertainment is often seen as emotive and the antithesis of rational discussion. There are also concerns that the role of the citizens are now reduced to a passive observer, whose only democratic function is to cast the final vote. The Scholars said: "In the face of these developments, Dahlgren questions the general social structure that is now evolving, and the role media play. What are the relationships between the public and the existing social structures? How do the newer, alternative media forms fit into the present environment? What is the relationship between them, and the traditional media?" "Finally, Dahlgren highlights the issues pertaining to the decline of face-to-face interaction. With the media taking over the space where people used to meet faceto-face, is the traditional social practice of people assembling together threatened? In the face of globalisation, people are more dispersed. Can the media mitigate the loss of this human link? Is it essential that this human link be maintained?" Under this section, democratic legitimation through the formation of publics and public opinion is discussed. This section will clarify “who is the public?”, as well as an introduction of the fundamental model of Habermas’ public sphere. The last two paragraphs ,already draw the attention on the media’s role in democracy. What role should the media ideally play, in your opinion? In contrast, what role is the media fulfilling now? REFERENCE-: Dahlgren, P. (1995). Television and the Public Sphere. London: Sage. Dahlgren, P. (2001). The transformation of democracy. In Axford, B. & Huggins, R. (eds.). New Media and Politics. London: Sage. pp. 64-88, as assembled by scholars in www.opentextbc.ca.

Chairman BON, Hajia Sa’a Ibrahim

a good understanding. Premium Times on the 26th of October, 2020, reported that the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) had fined Arise TV, Channels TV and AIT N3 million each over their “unprofessional coverage” of the #ENDSARS protests, and the crisis that followed it. Acting Director-General of NBC, Prof Armstrong Idachaba, announced the sanction at a press conference in Abuja. He said that if the Commission escalates the violations that emanated from the misuse of social media sources by broadcasters, sanctions according to the provisions of the law, NBC can comfortably shut the stations down. Idachaba said the stations’ offence was capable of leading to a breakdown of law and order, but the option of the fine will serve as a warning to the stations and others. Where would it be said that NBC derives this power? Quick response to the above question would be traced to NBC Code 2020 (Amendment to New edition). The Section provides for

Emmanuel Onwubiko, Head, Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA)

Unconstitutionality of Levying Fines on Arise “......THE IMPOSITION TV, AIT and Channels OF FINE BY NBC IS TV by NBC Shehu Abdulwaheed Adisa

Introduction This writer was in shock and dismay when he came across this NEWS and the Fining by NBC. It has been trailed with a series of arguments from writers, and a divergence of opinions have been submitted therein. I seek to pour my own perspective, on this issue. However, it’s pertinent to bring forth the information that triggered this article for

IN VIOLATION OF FUNDAMENTAL RIGHT OF THE BROADCASTERS, AND SAME IS SAID TO BE UNCONSTITUTIONAL”

warning over unconventional reportage and liability for violating same. For the purpose of clarity, Code 5.6.1 reads thus: The Broadcasters shall verify news materials emanating from unconventional source, as fake news is prohibited. The Code further provides that the broadcasters shall ensure that news materials sent in by the public are vetted, to ensure editorial responsibility also. The Broadcaster shall be liable for any of the breach of this Code emanating from the use of materials from user generated sources. There are plethora of guidelines for any broadcasters provided by the same Code, but my focus is whether the fine is constitutional or otherwise. Another question that needs to be asked is, did NBC act within the purview of Twin pillar of Natural JUSTICE in arriving at their decision? This response to the question would be in the negative. From all indications, the fined broadcasters were deprived of being heard by NBC, and as such denied the opportunity of presenting their cases. In fact, NBC acted in a judicial capacity, and by so doing, it became the complainant and the judge in its own cause, which offends provision of Section 36 of 1999 Constitution (amended) with regard to fair hearing. The section is to the effect that:(1)In the determination of his civil rights and obligations, including any question or determination by or against any government or authority, a person shall be entitled to a fair hearing within a reasonable time by a court or other tribunal established by law and constituted in such manner as to secure its independence and impartiality. Flowing from the above section and considering the legal implication of imposition of fines by NBC, I submit that such imposition of fine constitutes a determination of fined broadcasters’ civil obligation, and as such, NBC is expected to have provided room for the fined broadcasters to defend the allegations. I also am not unmindful of Section 36(2) of the Constitution which provides an exception to Section 36(1), and this portrays that NBC in the administration of a law it is empowered to administer, may make a decision affecting a person’s civil obligation, provided that such law provides that the person whose obligation is being determined, is allowed to present his case, before a decision affecting that person is made.

For ease of reference the section provides thus:Without prejudice to the foregoing provisions of this section, a law shall not be invalidated by reason only that it confers on any government or authority power to determine questions arising in the administration of a law that affects or may affect the civil rights and obligations of any person if such law (a) provides for an opportunity for the persons whose rights and obligations may be affected to make representations to the administering authority before that authority makes the decision affecting that person; and (b) contains no provision making the determination of the administering authority final and conclusive. It is glaring from the wordings of these sections that before any decision could be made by any administration or authorities, the parties must be given room for representation. Were the fined broadcasters allowed to make their representation, in order to defend the allegation? NO. However, the effect of failure to observe the principles of fair hearing, has been settled in a long line of authorities. NBC’s decision on imposition would be faulted by the decision of His Lordship, Niki Tobi JSC (as he then was) where he rightly and poignantly submitted in Orugbo & Anor v Una & Ors (2002) 16 NWLR (Pt.792) 175 @ 199 A-D that the fair hearing principle entrenched in the Constitution is so fundamental in the judicial process or the administration of justice, that breach of it will vitiate or nullify the whole proceedings, and a party cannot be heard to say that the proceedings were properly conducted and should be saved, because of such proper conduction. It is to be noted that principles of fair hearing isn’t only applicable in court of law, but also in any tribunal or authority(ies) who act in a judicial capacity. See Mohammed v Olawunmi & Ors (1990) 2 NWLR (Pt.133) 458. Hence, the imposition of fine by NBC is in violation of fundamental right of the broadcasters, and same is said to be unconstitutional. Having said that, does NBC even have the power in law to impose fines, since they are just a regulatory body? The answer to this question would also be negative. But, it must be noted that there are conflicting decisions of Court of Appeal on this issue. Few of these conflicting cases are:CAC v Seven-up Bottling Co. (2017), 17 Moses Ediru v F.R.S.C (2016), 18 and Ebong v Securities and Exchange Commission (2017) LPELR-43547(CA) 36, the Courts of Appeal have held in aforementioned cases that a regulator has the authority to impose civil penalties without recourse to the Courts. But, however, a contrary decision was submitted in the most recent case of NOSDRA v ExxonMobil (2018) LPELR-44210(CA), the Court held that an Administrative/Regulatory Agency has no power to impose fines, without proper adjudication by a Court of law. For the purpose of clarity, the words of the court is hereby reproduced verbatim: “I must here underline the fact that, awarding a fine is a judicial act and it is the sole prerogative of a court of law under Section 6 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended). No other organisations or bodies, can usurp that power. Any law that would consign to anybody other than the courts the power to award fine, is unconstitutional”. It is a settled principle of law that where there are conflicting decisions of court, the latter in time prevails. It appears that NOSDRA’s case is the latest decision, and lower court is bound to follow same. See OSAKWE v FEDERAL COLLEGE of EDUCATION (2010) 3 SCNJ. Conclusion On this note, NBC was wrong to have imposed such fine without giving room for representation. Shehu Abdulwaheed Adisa, Final Year Law Student, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria

12/

03.11.2020

How President Buhari Ignored my Patriotic and Well- Informed Advice in 2015 Nigerians are Paying Dearly for it Today (Part 2) Introduction

No Sir. That will be making the first fundamental mistake of your government and turn around present public perception about your own person as incorruptible, to one of compromise and abdication of your avowed anti-corruption stance. Let me, in this, borrow from the inexhaustible dictionary of flamboyant and colourful politician, Dr K. O. Mbadiwe, of blessed memory, whose hifalutin and grandiloquent grammar was only equalled and perhaps, surpassed by, that of the one and only “Zik of Africa”: GMB, if you want to kill corruption, rather than allow corruption kill us all, then you must probe all the probeables, investigate all the investigatables, arrest all arrestables, detain all the detainables, jail all the jailables, confiscate from thieving Nigerians, all the confiscateables, get to regurgitate all regurgitables, but exonerate all exoneratables. “It is only by probing past governments and corrupt persons, that the ugly spectre of recidivism and impunity will vanish from our national life, and deterrence fully enthroned and respected. Corruption is now said to be the 37th State in Nigeria, and obviously the wealthiest. GMB, kill it before it consumes us all. Not later, but immediately. Reason? Today is the tomorrow we talked about yesterday.

This was part 2 of my Sunday Telegraph write up in my weekly column, "THE NIGERIAN PROJECT", which was published on the 3RD OF MAY, 2015, well before Muhammadu Buhari assumed office as President of Nigeria. It was published in my series, where I had carefully analysed the 2015 Presidential elections and foresaw the dangers ahead. The series were titled, "THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION: THE WINNERS AND LOSERS". Nigerians, be the judge for yourselves, as regard my 2015 predictions, analysis of the then situation, periscoping in to envisaged problems and challenges after the election; and the many solutions which I had painstakingly proffered. Those who have ears, let them hear from some of us patriots, who may not be in government with 'them', nor found in their inner circle. This is where they secretly and clandestinely take decisions affecting the individual and collective lives and destinies of 208 million of Nigerians, like witches and wizards gathered in a coven. Now, read on: “The Presidential Election The Winners and Losers (Part 4) Drawing the Curtains “I have in the last five weeks discussed the Presidential election, the winners and the losers, inductees into the Halls of Fame and Shame, the partem and spread of voting that denied GMB a Pan-Nigerian mandate, and a check list of his litany of promises. Today, in drawing the curtains on this important national discourse, we shall attempt to set an agenda for GMB, drawing up a roadmap for his success in governance. I sincerely hope he listens and learns from history. “Checklist of Buhari’s Promises during his Electioneering Campaigns “On marble and recorded by Nigerians, during his electioneering campaigns, are the following promises made by Buhari, amongst others: All graduates will be paid allowances after NYSC, until they get jobs. The exchange rate of the Naira will be 1 Naira to 1 Dollar, within a year of his Presidency. Chibok girls will immediately be rescued, after he has been sworn in. There will be stability of crude oil price. There will be no more importation of petroleum products within a year of his Presidency, for all refineries will be producing at full capacity. Free education for all Nigerians, from primary school up to secondary school level. One meal per day for each school pupil. The end of Boko Haram insurgency, within a few weeks of his Presidency. No known corrupt person will be appointed into his government. Corruption will end in Nigeria. Petrol will sell for 45 Naira per litre, and Kerosene, 30 Naira per litre – this was promised by his acolytes. There will be provision of better and modern trains in Nigeria. Electricity will be stable 24/7 within a year of his Presidency, with a target of 3000 megawatts per annum. More, more and more. Nigerians are keeping this check-list for future close scrutiny. “Setting Agenda for GMB”, “The Way Forward: A Road Map for GMB” “General, please listen to me, Sir: You need to move fast. Very, very fast. Begin to build bridges of understanding, bandage raw wounds, balm bruised egos. Give strong leadership. Set up a Government of National Unity, drawing the best brains from your party, the opposition, the non-partisan, or party card-carrying technocrats of the land, and other independent minded Nigerian patriots. You must immediately unify this gravely fractured nation by setting up a genuine Peace and Reconciliation Committee, to re-align all centripetal and centrifugal forces which are threatening to tear apart our weak national enterprise. You have been given a rare opportunity to show that you are a “born again” democrat (your own words), transmuting from a military dictator, to a democratic President, driven by due process and rule of law. Your life can be likened to that of Abraham Lincoln, former American President, and the one who spearheaded the abolition of slave trade in 1865. “Lincoln had failed serially in life: lost his wife in 1831, defeated in the run for Illinois State Legislature in 1832, failed in business in 1833, lost his sweetheart (Ann Rutledge) in 1835, suffered nervous breakdown in 1836, defeated for Illinois House Speaker in 1846, lost renomination in 1848, rejected as Land Officer in 1849, defeated for Senate in 1854, defeated for VP nomination in 1856, and defeated yet again for Senate in 1858. But, he was elected President in 1860, and emerged as one of America’s most famous and adored Presidents, with his face ever incandescent

President Muhammadu Buhari

on America’s $100 bill. Will Buhari turn up as the 4th Nigerian President since 1999, to be another Abraham Lincoln? Only time and his actions will tell. “However, GMB, you must now quickly separate government and governance from party politics, the structure of government from your APC party structure. You must eschew witch-hunting of perceived enemies, or presumed rabid opponents. You must give room to robust criticism and a virile opposition to flourish, in the same way GEJ allowed you and your opposition to not only blossom, but be actually consumed by a level playing political ground that he had carefully prepared for you and your party, APC. “Remember the crass arrogance of PDP that consumed it. At a time, it curiously embarked on de-registration of members, rather than retaining old members and registering new ones. I had predicted then, that PDP will self-destruct, self immolate and self implode. That is what has just happened. Remember GEJ’s wobbly, fumbling and selfish kitchen cabinet that “imprisoned” and derailed him. Remember Sir, strong public perception that you are surrounded by some of the most crooked and corrupt elements in Nigeria, who have unduly appropriated (misappropriated is better), the people’s wealth. Some observers have described your position as pathetic as that of “Alibaba and the forty thieves”. I pray not, Sir. “Kill Corruption before it Kills Us “I heard, during your campaign, when you changed gear and declared that you will no longer probe past cases of corruption, but will only start from May 29, when you are inaugurated.

“...... DURING HIS ELECTIONEERING CAMPAIGNS......PROMISES MADE BY BUHARI....THE EXCHANGE RATE OF THE NAIRA WILL BE 1 NAIRA TO 1 DOLLAR, WITHIN A YEAR OF HIS PRESIDENCY..... CHIBOK GIRLS WILL IMMEDIATELY BE RESCUED......THE END OF BOKO HARAM INSURGENCY, WITHIN A FEW WEEKS OF HIS PRESIDENCY.......NO KNOWN CORRUPT PERSON WILL BE APPOINTED INTO HIS GOVERNMENT..... ELECTRICITY WILL BE STABLE 24/7 WITHIN A YEAR OF HIS PRESIDENCY....”

“Implement Confab Report” “One of the greatest achievements of GEJ, was braving all odds to set up the National Conference in 2014. The report is ready. Your APC party and its chieftains never bought into this laudable national project, that will surely give Nigeria a total rebirth and re-engineering. Surprise your APC handlers, by executing the over 600 commendable recommendations of the Confab. If you fail to do so, all your anti-corruption platitudes, attempts at growing the economy and wiping out insecurity will be forlorn, because the Confab report adequately took care of these challenges, how to solve them, and more. Do you hear me, Sir? Please Sir, do it as urgent as yesterday. “Reduce High Cost of Governance” “Perhaps, the biggest bane of past governments lies in the humongous cost of governance, where over 75% of our National budget is spent on recurrent, rather than on capital expenditure. You do not need more than the 36 constitutionally prescribed Ministers. To have a lean government, and plug all leakages and wastage, you must drastically reduce, if not totally eliminate, the laughable number of Special Advisers, Senior Special Assistants, Special Assistants, Personal Assistants etc. You must halt all unnecessary foreign trips by Government workers, strengthen the capacity of our hospitals and health institutions, to handle health challenges and improve on general infrastructure. You must do something very quickly about education, agriculture, transportation and perhaps, more importantly, the power sector. Get back our Chibok girls and build on the present efforts of Government against terror, which has greatly degraded Boko Haram and its insurgency. “We cannot continue to operate a “disarticulate economy” (apologies to Claude Ake), where we consume what we don’t produce, and produce what we don’t consume. In this wise, refurbish all our refineries as you promised, build new ones, and encourage the private sector to be fully involved in this national enterprise. “The stakes are very high, the hopes and expectations even higher. Most Nigerians are expecting miracles from you. Don’t tell them you are not a miracle worker. They will not buy that. You must be one. That was why they ignored your despotic Military background, and decided to give you another chance. Are you going to fail them? Will you be a recluse, or a transparent President? How would you deal with the human hawks and vampires surrounding you? How would you raise money to govern, in this austere era of dwindling oil prices? What is your take on FOI, Sharia, OIC, insecurity, anti-gay legislation, National Conference Report, international conspiracy, neo-colonialism, ethnic militias, xenophobic attacks on Nigerians, affirmative action for women where GEJ excelled, etc? “Remember the proverbial banana peel in Aso Villa? Nigerians are a wonderful set of people that tumultuously shout “Hosanna” today and unanimously scream, “crucify him” tomorrow. They are very impatient. They are not foolish. They are easy to govern, extremely difficult to rule; and nigh impossible to tyrannise. Remember your era of WAI, your draconian, iron fist rule, IBB’s coup, and how Nigerians hailed and welcomed it? That is Nigerians for you. They cherish their freedoms and liberties. So, GMB, beware the “ides of March”. Like the Hausas would say, “Ga fili ga doki” (Behold the horse, behold the large plain field…). You now have both the knife and the yam, the stick and the carrot. You cannot ask for more from God and Nigerians. To whom much is given, much is expected. “Have GMB, VP Professor Yemi Osinbajo (PYO) and other kitchen Cabinet members-in-the making, been reading and digesting these five part Presidential election Sunday sermons on the “The Nigerian Project” by Chief Mike Ozekhome, SAN, OFR? THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK “With proper governance, life will improve for all”. (Benigno Aquino III)

3.11.2020

/ 13

T H I S D AY ˾ UESDAY NOVEMBER 3, 2020

PROPERTY & ENVIRONMENT U.S. Exits Paris Agreement Tomorrow, Re-enters if Biden Wins Today Bennett Oghifo The United States will officially withdraw from the Paris Agreement on climate change tomorrow, but Mr. Joe Biden, the Presidential nominee of the Democratic Party has promised the country would re-enter the global accord if he wins today’s election. The U.S. government, led by President Donald Trump, served notice of the nation’s withdrawal from the Paris Agreement through a statement issued by Secretary of State, Michael R. Pompeo, on November 4, last year. The statement said the U.S. is exiting the Accord, because

pledges the nation made under the Agreement imposed unfair economic burden on American workers, businesses, and taxpayers. “Today the United States began the process to withdraw from the Paris Agreement. Per the terms of the Agreement, the United States submitted formal notification of its withdrawal to the United Nations. The withdrawal will take effect one year from delivery of the notification,” Pompeo said in his statement. The Paris Agreement’s central aim is to strengthen the global response to the threat of climate change by keeping a global temperature rise this

century well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels and to pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase even further to 1.5 degrees Celsius. Additionally, the agreement aims to increase the ability of countries to deal with the impacts of climate change, and at making finance flows consistent with a low greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and climate-resilient pathway. To reach these ambitious goals, appropriate mobilisation and provision of financial resources, a new technology framework and enhanced capacity-building is to be put in place, thus supporting action by developing countries and

the most vulnerable countries, in line with their own national objectives. The Agreement also provides for an enhanced transparency framework for action and support. The Paris Agreement requires all Parties to put forward their best efforts through “nationally determined contributions” (NDCs) and to strengthen these efforts in the years ahead. This includes requirements that all Parties report regularly on their emissions and on their implementation efforts. There will also be a global stocktake every five years to assess the collective progress towards achieving the purpose of the agreement and

to inform further individual actions by Parties. The Paris Agreement opened for signature on 22 April 2016 – Earth Day – at UN Headquarters in New York. It entered into force on 4 November 2016, 30 days after the so-called “double threshold” (ratification by 55 countries that account for at least 55% of global emissions) had been met. Since then, more countries have ratified and continue to ratify the Agreement, reaching a total of 125 Parties in early 2017, but the figure has gone up to 197 countries, which are known as Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change

(UNFCCC). At COP 21 (21st conference of Parties) in Paris, on 12 December 2015, Parties to the UNFCCC reached a landmark agreement to combat climate change and to accelerate and intensify the actions and investments needed for a sustainable low carbon future. The Paris Agreement builds upon the Convention and – for the first time – brings all nations into a common cause to undertake ambitious efforts to combat climate change and adapt to its effects, with enhanced support to assist developing countries to do so. As such, it charts a new course in the global climate effort.

Lekki Gardens Triggers Development at Ikate Elegushi, Lagos Bennett Oghifo Ikate – Eleguishi, a suburb of Lagos, is trending as a preferred axis for housing development, for home ownership and for investment, courtesy of Lekki Gardens, a renowned real estate firm that has built sturdy cities and rehabilitated roads in that community. Lekki Gardens’ projects have thus become a major driver of development in the Ikate–Eleguishi axis of Lagos Island, contributing immeasurably towards its desirability and marketability. A real estate broker, Makinde Balogun told journalists, at a virtual conference recently, that prior to the advent of Lekki Gardens’ in the area, they had a hard time convincing

prospective home owners to take up plots, stating that, interestingly, the story has changed for the best. Balogun said, “With vast portions of land, low human settlements and shortage of economic advancements, the Ikate–Eleguishi axis of Lagos Island consistently struggled to woo investors and the upper middle class for a long time due to the shortage of infrastructural development in the area, while farther locations like Chevron and Victoria Garden City (VGC) became more prominent. “However, the last couple of years have experienced massive infrastructural development in the Ikate–Eleguishi area with the arrival of leading real estate companies like Lekki Gardens. Since setting

up operational office in the area, Lekki Gardens’, Nigeria’s leading real estate company known for building affordable luxury has made significant impact in boosting development in Ikate–Eleguishi. From constructing a cumulative 4km access road across the Kunsela, Ikate, Eleguishi and Nike Arts Gallery road axis to carrying out over 1km of fencing, 3km2 of landscaping, constructing massive drainage systems and carrying out frequent roads maintenance activities, Lekki Gardens has made sure that the area becomes not just habitable but also easily commercialised.” According to Balogun, whilst developing this area, they have also built over 2,000 units of luxury apartments in the region which sold for up

to 40% below the market value at the time of sale. “These properties have not only given the area a facelift but have also become the benchmark for luxury living. Interestingly, considering the mega city status of Lagos State and its THEMES (Traffic Management & Transportation, Health & Environment, Education & Technology, Making Lagos a 21st Century Economy, Entertainment and Tourism, Security and Governance) pillar of development, we can say that Lekki Gardens is supporting the state government in its quest to make Lagos a 21st Century Economy and this further creates a need for other private companies to support the government towards making the state better for everyone, and in

the words of HE Luccock, “No one can whistle a symphony.

It takes a whole orchestra to play it.”

Lekki Gardens builds access roads at Ikate-Elegushi, Lagos

Design Union Wins Two International Property Awards Leading design and property development group, Design Union Limited could not have wished for a better gift to commemorate its 20th Anniversary as it wins two prestigious international

Eden Heights, Lagos

awards for the design of its Royal Residences (Eden Heights) Tower and Aihie Villa, VGC, at the 2020/21 Africa-Asia Property Awards. The Award is given by International Property Media

Ltd, publishers of International Property & Travel Magazine. The firm’s entry, Aihie Villa won the Single Residence category in Africa while Royal Residences (Eden Heights) won the Multiple Residence Category in Africa. In a mail dated September 8th 2020, the Chairman of International Property Awards conveyed the award message to Design Union and congratulated the firm for achieving the enviable feat. Design Union has won several awards in the past including one for Sahara Energy’s Capital Centrum Building located in Abuja that won the same Award in 2011 For Commercial Office Architecture in Africa. The award-winning building, Royal Residences (Eden Heights) is a multi-residential edifice capable of meeting the needs of the city’s top executives and expatriates while offering luxury in an urban apartment setting. The residences comprise 1, 2, 3&4- Bedroom apartments as well as 5 & 6 Bedroom Penthouses with facilities for leisure, wellness and health in support of the residents’ lifestyle. The tower is an elegant 17-floor high rise that sits at

the heart of Lagos’ highbrow cosmopolitan business district of Victoria Island Lagos. It is a new modernist addition to the Victoria Island skyline. The building is situated on a land area of approximately 3,000 square metres along Elsie Femi Pearse Street, off Adeola Odeku Road. The ground floor occupies approximately 80 percent of the site area and integrates the parking and service areas and main reception which welcomes residents and guests. The first floor accommodates additional parking, staff support areas as well as additional service areas. A posh pool side restaurant, an overflow swimming pool, well equipped gym, and contemporary health and beauty spa themed with African traditional elements as well as Capital Club (a members-only International business club) are lifestyle amenities located on the second floor. An interesting space worth experiencing, Ehima Cave Spa is laid out to mimic cave-like settings carved out of real rocks. The use of stamped concrete stone patterned for the floor and vanity top compliment the rustic look. The building is oriented with its lounge and lying east-west

which was greatly influenced by the shape of the site and position of the road. The open plan living/dining area features floor-to-floor ceiling windows that offer spectacular views of the city. The use of a modern palette of calm tones for finely selected wall and floor finish gives a timeless contemporary look to the bedroom. The flat walls provide a perfect backdrop for eye catching art pieces that add depth to the space. Street view of the building shows curved building surfaces with defined horizontal window elements. The building is cladded with a shimmering glass mosaic that gives markedly different texture and color, depending on time of day and direction of the sun. The apartments start from the third floor with 1&2 bedrooms, they continue on to the Sixth floor all the way to the 11th floor housing the 3 &4 bedroom apartments. The twelfth to the Sixteenth floors accommodate the Penthouses. According to the Chief Executive Officer of Design Union, Anthony Aihie, the concept for Aihie Villa (another award winning property) was inspired by

traditional Nigerian architecture. The typical traditional home is characterized by a courtyard which is the central hub of the home where most activities and interactions take place. All other functional spaces are designed around the courtyard and accessed from it. The Aihie Villa is a single family Residence for a modern working Nigerian family. Both matriarch and patriarch live an active lifestyle and entertain at home quite frequently. The Villa is therefore a modern expression of the traditional living arrangement. The layout has the public area acting as a nucleus where all other living spaces radiate from. The sleeping, eating and guest areas are arranged around the courtyard which serves as the family living area. Aihie Villa is located in Victoria Garden City which is a gated community in the Ajah area of Lagos State. The front facade of the building reflects the contemporary vibe of the home with its geometric forms and the positioning of different sizes of windows. The warm color scheme with its natural elements and textures harmonises the building with its natural surrounding giving it a picturesque appeal.

T H I S D AY ˾ UESDAY NOVEMBER 3, 2020

PROPERTY & ENVIRONMENT

Used Vehicles Hindering Climate Change Mitigation Efforts, Says UNEP Report Bennett Oghifo A new report by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) has said millions of used cars, vans and minibuses exported from Europe, the United States and Japan to the developing world, including Nigeria, are of poor quality, contributing significantly to air pollution and hindering efforts to mitigate the effects of climate change. The report shows that between 2015 and 2018, 14 million used light-duty vehicles were exported worldwide. Some 80 per cent went to low- and middle-income countries, with more than half going to Africa. Used Vehicles and the Environment - A Global Overview of Used Light Duty Vehicles: Flow, Scale and Regulation, the first-ever report of its kind, calls for action to fill the current policy vacuum with the adoption of harmonised minimum quality standards that will ensure used vehicles contribute to cleaner, safer fleets in importing countries. In general LDVs do not

exceed a gross weight of 3.5 tons, and include saloon cars, SUVs and minibuses. Vehicles above 3.5 tons are categorized as Heavy Duty Vehicles (HDVs) and these include different types of trucks and buses. The fast-growing global vehicle fleet is a major contributor to air pollution and climate change; globally, the transport sector is responsible for nearly a quarter of energyrelated global greenhouse gas emissions. Specifically, vehicle emissions are a significant source of the fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) that are major causes of urban air pollution. “Cleaning up the global vehicle fleet is a priority to meet global and local air quality and climate targets,” said Inger Andersen, Executive Director of UNEP. “Over the years, developed countries have increasingly exported their used vehicles to developing countries; because this largely happens unregulated, this has become the export of polluting vehicles.”

“The lack of effective standards and regulation is resulting in the dumping of old, polluting and unsafe vehicles,” she added. “Developed countries must stop exporting vehicles that fail environment and safety inspections and are no longer considered roadworthy in their own countries, while importing countries should introduce stronger quality standards.” The report, based on an indepth analysis of 146 countries, found that some two-thirds of them have ‘weak’ or ‘very weak’ policies to regulate the import of used vehicles. However, it also shows that where countries have implemented measures to govern the import of used vehicles – notably age and emissions standards – these give them to access high-quality used vehicles, including hybrid and electric cars, at affordable prices. For example, Morocco only permits the import of vehicles less than five years old and those meeting the EURO4 European vehicles emission standard; as a result, it receives only relatively

advanced and clean used vehicles from Europe. The report found that African countries imported the largest number of used vehicles (40 per cent) in the period studied, followed by countries in Eastern Europe (24 per cent), Asia-Pacific (15 per cent), the Middle East (12

per cent) and Latin America (nine per cent). Through its ports, the Netherlands is one of the exporters of used vehicles from Europe. A recent review conducted by The Netherlands of its exports found that most of these vehicles did not have a valid roadworthiness certificate at the time of export.

Most vehicles were between 16 and 20 years old, and most fell below EURO4 European Union vehicles emission standards. For example, the average age of used vehicles exported to the Gambia was close to 19 years old, while a quarter of used vehicles exported to Nigeria were almost 20 years old.

Imported used vehicles

Alaro City Wins Two Global Free Zone Awards Fadekemi Ajakaiye fDi Intelligence, a Financial Times service, has recognised the success of Alaro City in the fDi Global Free Zones of the Year Awards 2020, which acknowledge the most promising free zones in the world. fDi Intelligence assessed free zones by growth rate, innovation, services, products and initiatives supporting companies in them. Alaro City was awarded “Highly Commended in Africa” in the SME Winners

Category and named “One to Watch” among free zones globally. The panel of judges from fDi, comprising the Financial Times’ specialist editorial team and independent judges for each region, studied 61 free zones. Commenting on Alaro City, the judges said: “Alaro City FZC in the Lekki Free Zone in Nigeria has been developing an SME enclave where a shared facilities strategy will be adopted to optimise the operations of companies within the enclave. The enclave will

focus on developing smallersized industrial and logistics plots, typically between 1,000 and 5,000 square metres.” Launched in January 2019, Alaro City is planned as a 2,000-hectare mixed-income, city-scale development with industrial and logistics locations, complemented by offices, homes, schools, healthcare facilities, hotels, entertainment and 150 hectares (370 acres) of parks and open spaces. Alaro City is a partnership between Rendeavour, Africa’s largest new city builder, and Lagos

State Government. More than 30 companies are operational, building or designing their facilities in the city, and 3.5km of initial road networks and a modular 50MVA power plant are under construction. One of the companies in Alaro City, Ariel Foods FZE, launched the largest ready-to-eat therapeutic foods factory in Africa in January. The facility, located on 28,000 square metres, has an annual production capacity of 18,000 metric tonnes and is the most technically advanced

therapeutic manufacturing facility Africa. Commenting on the fDi awards, Mr. Ayo Gbeleyi, Chairman of Alaro City, said: “We are honoured by fDi Intelligence’s recognition of the innovation and economic growth that Alaro City represents. As economies emerge from the shocks caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, free zones are using their special status to keep trade flowing. At Alaro City, we are fully aware of the role we play in contributing to Nigeria’s

economic development and attracting investments into Lagos, the nation’s economic cum financial nerve-centre and we are especially honoured when this work is recognised.” Last year, Alaro City’s masterplan won the international Architizer A+ Popular Choice Award, besting prestigious projects such as the Amazon HQ2 supersite in Dallas and the 5M project in San Francisco. The city was also voted “Emerging Project of the Year” by PropertyPro.ng at the Africa Real Estate Awards.

Millionhomes Launches New Orange Apartments Oluchi Chibuzor Millionhomes, an initiative of LIFEPAGE Group, has launched its new Orange Apartments, a fully serviced residential development aimed at providing middle-income earners opportunity to own a decent home. The newly constructed building is open to customers through the 60 days Independence bounty offer in commemoration of the nation’s 60th independence anniversary.

Speaking in Lagos recently, the Group CEO, LIFEPAGE Group, Mr. Oladipupo Clement, said in addition to the completion of Orange Apartments, Millionhomes would continue to focus on building quality and affordable homes for Nigerians as parts of its ongoing projects in Gbagada, Lakowe and Ikorodu. He said: “This got us a mission to make home ownership possible in Lagos. It brings us tremendous joy to see such a rewarding project come to fruition. Millionhomes reloaded,

recently launch on October 1st, 2020, will see subscribers earn up to 100 percent Return on Investment. This investment would transform housing, allowing investors to make social impact while earning great return on investment.” Commenting on the partnership between Ikeja City and LIFEPAGE Group, which led to the success of the housing units, the Managing Director, Millionhomes, Mr. Francis Ajilore said it was pleasing to help well-deserving families

achieve their dream home ownership adding that “This action is yet another criterion of how confident the organization values its dedication to providing quality and affordable housing to the working families of Lagos State. “The Orange Apartments at Dideolu Estate, Ogba-Ikeja, is just 18-minute drive from the international airport. This location is one of the four sites articulated to Ikeja citizens as part of the Millionhomes development and is the first family residence to be

completed,” he said. On his part, the Managing Director, LIFEPAGE Estate, Mr. Opeoluwa Oni, said Millionhomes oversaw the development of Orange Apartments using materials that are sustainable and eco-friendly, while making use of environmentally friendly building tools. According to him: “With at least N100,000 deposit for any of our products within the 60 days window, anyone stands a chance to win amazing prices like a two-bedroom flat, an

all-expense-paid trip to Dubai, home furnishings, and a car. It’s fascinating to see how good and affordable housing can transform our neighborhood. “We are building One Million Homes by 2041. The Real Estate value chain has several short-term, mid-term, and long-term local and global investment opportunities, which only high net worth individuals (HNIs) can take advantage of. However, we are democratizing access to these opportunities,” he explained.

‘About 20 Million Hectares of Land Restored in Great Green Wall’ Bennett Oghifo Close to 20 million hectares of land have already been restored, as part of the Great Green Wall (GGW) initiative, according to the implementation report released recently at a virtual meeting of environment ministers from Nigeria, Senegal, Mauritania, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Chad, Sudan, Eritrea, Ethiopia and Djibouti together with regional partners, international organisations and development agencies.

The GGW was launched in 2007 under the leadership of the African Union Commission and Pan-African Agency of the GGW, and with financial support from the government of Ireland. The Initiative unites African countries and international partners to transform the lives of millions of people by growing an 8,000 km long and 15 km wide mosaic of trees, grasslands, vegetation and plants along the southern tip of the Saharan desert. Once complete, the GGW will be the largest living structure on the

planet, three times the size of the Great Barrier Reef. This first comprehensive status report, ‘The Great Green Wall: Implementation Status and Way Ahead to 2030’ states that over 350,000 jobs were created and around USD90 million in revenues was generated from 2007 to 2018 through the GGW activities. Over 220,000 people received training on sustainable production of agro-pastoral and non-timber products to support the shift to more responsible consumption and production.

The restored area will sequester over 300 MtCO2 by 2030, roughly 30 per cent of the envisioned target for the GGW. The report also indicates that to reach the target restoration of 100 million hectares of land by 2030, the GGW countries need to restore 8.2 million hectares of land every year at an annual financial investment of USD4.3 billion. The initiative also aims to create 10 million jobs by that date. In her opening remarks, the UN Deputy Secretary-General

Ms. Amina Mohammed said, “The Great Green Wall can – and will – change the lives of millions of our people. More jobs, better health, greater stability; more resilient and cohesive communities and stronger inclusive economic growth. “As we survey the wreckage of COVID-19, and make our plans to rebuild through robust stimulus packages, it would be a missed opportunity not to see investing in the Great Green Wall as an integral component of an inclusive sustainable economic

response and recovery.” The UNCCD Executive Secretary, Mr. Ibrahim Thiaw said, “The GGW is yielding immediate benefits for the local communities and long-term ecosystem benefits at the international level. It shows that when countries dare to dream, work together and make the right choices, we can prosper and live in harmony with nature. And where innovative ideas emerge, positive, dramatic change that benefits both the local and international communities will happen.”

TUESDAY OCTOBER 6, 2020 ˾ T H I S D AY

INTERNATIONAL

Trump, Biden in Close Race as Americans Vote Today As Americans go the polls today to elect their leaders at the federal and state levels, Tiko Okoye writes that the focus really is on the two candidates seeking the presidency, President Donald Trump of the Republican Party and formerVice President Joe Biden of the Democratic Party The 2020 US elections are billed for today, November 3, 2020. As many as 13 state and territorial governorships, as well as numerous other state and county elections, all 435 seats in the House of Representatives and 35 of the 100 seats in the Senate will be contested. But by far the most keenly followed and most widely reported would be the contest for the presidency between Republican Donald Trump, the incumbent president seeking a second term, and Democrat Joe Biden, a former vice-president. Both are septuagenarians – Trump is 74 years old, while Biden is 78. Both also followed a similar trajectory in clinching the nomination of their respective parties. The Republican Party establishment never wanted to touch Trump even with a mile-long pole. But he went on to not only win the party primaries but also the presidential election. And like his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, recently disclosed in a recently released taped interview, the erstwhile business mogul made short work of accomplishing a “hostile takeover” of the party, such that the fear of Trump has become the beginning of conventional wisdom in the latter-day Grand Old Party (GOP), as the Republican Party is also known! On his own part, Biden has tried in the past to attain the pinnacle of his illustrious political career but has twice failed to clinch the nomination of the Democratic Party. It was crystal-clear that he was spurned by the party establishment as well as by the rank and file during the early phase of the 2020 primary contests. After embarrassingly finishing a distant fifth in February’s New Hampshire’s primary, he was practically given up for dead. But a predominantly Black electorate in South Carolina breathed a new lease of life into his candidacy and he eventually became the biggest beneficiary of the “Super Tuesday” sweepstakes! Even so, many in his party viewed his nomination with forlorn resignation. They felt he would stumble in debates with Trump and that his gaffes would serve as ample ammunition to an opponent known not to give any quarter in a fight to the death! But that is where the similarity ends. Both men are actually as different as day is from night. Where Trump is erratic, brusque, impulsive and even reckless, Biden is staid, run-of-the-mill, steady and plodding. Where Trump is daring and sensational, Biden represents an unassuming and empathetic grandfatherly figure – Trump even derisively mocks him with the moniker of “Sleepy Joe.” In fact, Biden can be described as the tortoise to Trump’s hare in that local folklore of a race between both animals. Nothing fully captures the essence of the times that the 2020 US presidential election is being conducted like that verse from the Book of Ecclesiastes: “To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven.” Indeed, timing is everything in life. The peculiar circumstances of this year’s contest – a devastating pandemic that killed hundreds of thousands of Americans and an economic collapse throwing millions into the labour market and making those still employed very nervous

and vulnerable – call for the very same character traits that would have marked a candidate like Biden as a weak leader under a different scenario. Talk of the stone the builders rejected suddenly becoming the chief cornerstone! And, the election just around the corner, Biden appears to hold an unassailable doubledigit national lead and narrower but stable leads in many battleground states that Trump won in 2016. To make matters worse, Biden has even become very competitive in previously solid GOP states like Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Iowa and Ohio where he is leading Trump in the polls! But Biden and the Democrats are far from being complacent. They know that Trump is the grandmaster of the “Art of the Deal,” and that the higher the stakes and the more daunting the odds, the greater the likelihood of getting Trump’s adrenalin dangerously up and going! They very well remember that at about this same time four years ago Clinton Hilary was similarly leading Trump in almost every poll, only for Trump to put political pundits and bookmakers to shame by winning the crucial Electoral College vote. Still, the circumstances between 2016 and 2020 are very different in several important aspects. In addition to the earlier mentioned poor handling of the rampaging coronavirus pandemic by Trump, Biden is nowhere as controversial a figure as Hilary was. A most recent Fox News survey – Trump’s favourite network – has Biden, very much unlike Hilary, with a 16% net positive favourability rating, compared with a 10% net negative rating for Trump. The reckless manner that Trump has been adjudged to have handled the pandemic by one of the most vulnerable segments of the population – the elderly and senior citizens – has lost him crucial support among older voters, especially in Florida State with a relatively high proportion of retirees. Grave errors in sampling techniques that caused a great disparity between expected and final outcomes, such as polls not weighted by values like education to allow for those without college degrees who are less likely to respond to surveys and more likely to vote for Trump, have been corrected, resulting in more credible polling. Polling simulation analyses conducted by some leading experts, where averages of the stronger 2020 polls were adjusted as if they were as wrong as they were in 2016, indicate that Biden is still on course to win the Electoral College vote even if he were to lose Florida, Iowa, North Carolina, Ohio and Wisconsin where polls show him leading by at least three points – probable but unlikely. On the other hand, Trump has to win every major battleground state to be re-elected – not impossible but highly unlikely, and a much more daunting hurdle than that confronting Biden. The third-party candidacy of Jill Stein (Green Party) spit enough liberal votes to gift Trump razor-thin victories over Hilary in the three key Great Lakes Area states of Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin that clinched the Electoral College vote for Trump. There is no such relatively strong liberalleaning third-party candidate to afflict a political heartburn

Trumph on Biden. In 2016, an important block of the Democratic Party supporting Sen. Bernie Sanders chose to abstain rather than vote for Hilary. But Biden and Sanders have a very cordial personal relationship and the traditionally atomistic Democratic Party has surprisingly been able to energise all its factions to work in unison to elect Biden. On the contrary, an increasing number of top officials that served in the Trump administration and “The Lincoln Project” – the political organisation founded by Republicans united against Trump, are openly flaunting their support for Biden. And very few would doubt

Biden that the highly controversial decision of then-FBI Director James Comey – based entirely on a Russian-fed misinformation – to brew a storm in a teacup with the Hilary Clinton email controversy few days to the election largely cost her the presidency. The intelligence and security agencies as well as the electorate are now better prepared for such external shenanigans, as evidenced by how the plot to use the faux “Hunter Biden laptop,” allegedly containing emails depicting the Bidens as a family willing to peddle political influence for person gain, failed to produce any real traction outside pro-Trump conservative media outlets.

Early voting has already surpassed nearly threequarters of the about 130million aggregate votes cast in 2016, and it is relatively safe to say that no eleventh hour surprise at this stage – euphemistically dubbed “October surprise” – would hurt either candidate. My predictions? Best case scenario: A landslide victory for Biden both in terms of popular and Electoral College votes – of a kind not experienced since 1984 when Ronald Reagan took Democratic challenger Walter Mondale to the cleaners. Worst case scenario: Trump would prove yet again to be the political cat with nine lives – but Biden would win

he popular vote by a margin not less than six million, and win the Electoral College vote by the slimmest of margins. And now this: The Democrats would gain a majority in both the Senate and the House of Representatives, and ultimately pack the Supreme Court to create a level playing jurisprudential field just to undo what Trump and the Republican-dominated upper chamber have done to disingenuously lock in a 6-3 conservative majority. There is a saying in the Niger Delta to the effect that Cunny man d Okoye is a Boston University Hubert H. Humphrey Fellow Abuja.

...How President will Be Elected Although Americans are taking to the polls this today to vote in the presidential elections, they do not really get to select the next president of the United States. Technically, the president and vice-president are selected by a group of electors, collectively known as the Electoral College. In a roundabout way, when voters go to the polls, they are really voting for the Electoral College which then elects the president and vice-president. Consequently, winning the democratic popular vote in the U.S. does not determine who is president. Winning the Electoral College does.

How Does this Work Exactly?

The Electoral College is made up of temporarily selected state representatives known as electors. In total, there are 538 members of the Electoral College, representing the 50 states and the nation’s capital, Washington, District of Columbia (D.C.). The winner of the elections must win at least 270 votes. The constitution of the United States mandates that the number of the electors equals the number of congressional delegations, that is, the total number of senators and house of

representatives. A 1961 constitutional amendment further increased the number of electors to include representation from D.C., which has no members of congress. The total number of electors is broken down to represent the congress as follows: 100 Senators; 435 House of Representatives and 3 electors representing Washington, D.C. Whilst each state has exactly two senators, the number of House of Representatives depends on the number of congressional districts. This can be varied. For example, while states like New York and Florida both have 27 representatives, others like Alaska and Delaware each have one. California has the highest number of representatives with 53 members.

The Electoral College at Work

The selection of the members of the Electoral College has changed over the years. In recent years, this selection has happened at the party level during the presidential primaries. Electors inevitably represent the parties in control of the congressional districts and states. This year, the Electoral

College will meet on December 14, following the general elections, to cast their ballots for the president and vice-president in the individual states and D.C. Usually, their votes are presumed, based on the outcome of the general elections and the general rules followed by each state.

What Determines the Decisions of the Electoral College?

Individual states determine how members of the Electoral College vote. Majority of states follow a winner-takes-all approach. That is, whoever gets the majority votes in the general elections in each state automatically wins all Electoral College votes in that state. For example, if Donald Trump wins majority votes in Florida, he may be presumed to have won 29 Electoral College votes. Fourty-eight states follow this rule. On the other hand, two states, Maine and Nebraska, follow an Electoral College voting system that splits the Electoral College votes between congressional district voter outcomes and the state-wide outcomes. In Tuesday’s elections, 529 of the Electoral College votes will be determined by the winnertakes-all principle. In very

few occasions, pledged electoral votes have been changed by the electors in the past.

Does the American Electorate Count?

How important are the individual votes of the electorate then? Individual votes in each state count in so far as they, ultimately, determine the direction in which the Electoral College votes. In 48 states and D.C., the Electoral College is expected to vote in line with the popular votes of the people. This explains why the U.S. has certain battle ground states, such as Florida and Texas. This is not merely because of the number of Electoral College votes at stake, but because party loyalties between the two main political parties are almost evenly split. Consequently, the votes, and the total number of Electoral College votes, could go either ways. In 2016, although Hillary Clinton won the popular vote, beating Donald Trump by about three million votes, she lost the elections because President Trump won 304 Electoral College votes to her 227. *Culled from Premium Times

T H I S D AY Ëž ÍąË&#x153; 2020

BUSINESSWORLD R A T E S MONEY MARKET OVERNIGHT OBB

A S

REPO 1.25 1

CALL 1-MONTH 3-MONTH

1 2 20

A T

Group Business Editor Obinna Chima

Email obinna.chima@thisdaylive.com 08152447875

O C T O B E R

S & P INDEX INDEX LEVEL 1-DAY MONTH-TO-DATE

743.18% -0.26% 18.59%

S & P INDEX 1/4 TO DATE YEAR TO DATE

3 0 , 18.59% 18.59%

2 0 2 0 EXCHANGE RATE ÍąÍľÍˇËšÍŻ ĚŠ ĚŠ

Quick Takes Japanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Nidec Plans $2bn Motor Factory

SPECIAL RECOGNITION

Director General, Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), Farouk Salim (left), receiving an award from the President, Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN), Sam Ohuabunwa, during a dinner organised by PSN in Abuja...recently

â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Stalled PIB Hampered Investment in Downstream Assets Digitalisationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Peter Uzoho

ENERGY

Marketers of petroleum products in the country have continued to highlight the negative impact of the long delay in passing the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) on the downstream sector of the nationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s oil industry. Precisely, they said the failure to pass the all -important bill into law for decades has resulted to loss of appetite to invest in the digitalisation of their vital downstream assets. The marketers, who spoke at the just ended virtual Oil Trading & Logistics Conference (OTL) Africa Downstream Week, however, acknowledged the pivotal role technology plays in the future of storage, pipelines and coastal assets. Speaking at the conference on the topic: â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Future of

Storage and Pipeline Assetsâ&#x20AC;?, the Chief Operating Officer of OVH Energy Marketing, Mr. Mumuni Dagazau, said the delayed PIB was responsible for a dearth of investments in downstream infrastructure in Nigeria. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The PIB has been dangled for quite a while whereas its passage will create a lot of confidence for investment, not only in technology but in the development of physical infrastructure as well. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Due to a delay in the passage of the PIB, there is a lack of confidence in the downstream sector in terms of investment requirements,â&#x20AC;? he said. Dagazau stated that the reality has revealed the need for rapid development of technology in the downstream oil and gas sector, not only for protection of petroleum

assets, but for efficiency and speed in making decisions for both the private and public sector in the downstream industry. Outlining the drivers of technology in the downstream industry, Dagazau noted that with what had been deployed so far, one could easily tell where operatorsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; concerns lie. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Technology is deployed for several reasons and one of such is to manage storage facilities, coordinate supply planning, promotes business efficiency and optimising transportation. â&#x20AC;&#x153;One of the biggest problems we have is that we need to develop manpower as quickly as we develop technology. These two literally go hand in hand,â&#x20AC;? he said. Dagazau also identified the cost implication of adopting technology for downstream operations as another reason technology is

not being deployed as quickly as the industry would like to see. According to him, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Technology is not cheap, but if we are able to, through other means, reduce cost in taxes and support the oil and gas sector, we will witness a quick upscale of technologies in the sector.â&#x20AC;? The COO noted that in addition to the disruptions caused by the PIB, the industry also had issues with compatibility between technology and infrastructure. He explained that this was because technology has to match infrastructure to give the cost benefit. Also contributing, the Chairman, Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria (DAPMMAN), Mrs. Winifred Akpani, stated that most downstream oil companies had Continued on page 24

Report: Amnesty Prioritised Stable Oil Production, Not Nâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Delta Devt Chineme Okafor in Abuja Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP) created in 2009 by the government of late President Umaru Yarâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Adua was not meant to fix the socio-economic and environmental difficulties faced by people living in the oil-bearing Niger Delta region, but chiefly to restore oil production which declined from militantsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; interruption of activities in oil fields there, a new report has disclosed. Now in its 10th year with huge sums of money reportedly put

ENERGY in its implementation, the report â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Assessment of the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP)â&#x20AC;&#x2122; published by the Nigerian Natural Resource Charter (NNRC) and Nextier SPD (Security, Peace and Development) noted that the amnesty programme now suffers from elite capture, corruption and accountability deficit. It called for its wind-down by the government, or transition into social and communitybased programmes within the

ministries of the federal and state governments, as well as independent programme for young Nigerians. The report, however, warned that this could be resisted by key beneficiaries of the programmeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s weak governance framework but insisted that the government would have limited financial strength to continue to fund it with current situations in the global oil market. Obtained by THISDAY, it reiterated that the region from where most of Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s oil is extracted is marred by youth unemployment,

environmental degradation and other forms of socio-economic and political deprivations which are major security threats to lives, livelihoods, environment and critical oil infrastructure. It also noted that at the peak of the crisis in 2009 which birthed the programme, Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s oil production dropped to as low as 700,000 barrels per day (bpd) from the previous production level of 2.2 million barrels a day (mbd). The country, it explained, lost Continued on page 24

Nidec Corp. will spend 200 billion yen ($1.9 billion) on a new plant in Serbia to build motors for electric vehicles as it seeks to win more business from automakers turning away from internal combustion engines, the Nikkei newspaper reported. Nidec founder, Shigenobu Nagamori, said he wants a 35 per cent market share for energy-saving electric motor technology known as e-axle or e-drive by 2030, which is expected to have grown ten times by then to as much as $30 billion a year. The technology is expected to make electric vehicles more aďŹ&#x20AC;ordable and help cut carbon dioxide emissions from vehicles which account for 17 per cent of global carbon dioxide emissions, according to the International Council on Clean Transportation in Washington. The plant, which follows construction of an EV motor plant in China, is slated to open in 2023 with annual production of between 200,000 and 300,000 units a year, the Nikkei said. A spokesman for Nidec declined to comment. Nidec, also known for its miniature electric motors for smartphones and other electronic devices, acquired automotive electronic control system producer Honda Elesys in 2014 and the automotive electronics unit of Omron Corp. in 2019.

Canada Turns on Oil Taps

Canadian crude producers are churning out extra barrels to ďŹ nish their hardest year in decades on a higher note, after Albertaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s government lifted restrictions and as demand for heavy oil surged. Some companies in Canada, the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s fourth-largest producer, continued to post big losses in the third quarter, swelled by impairment charges related to pandemic travel restrictions that have depressed fuel demand, Reuters added. Producers cut 972,000 barrels per day (bpd) in spring when prices set new lows, dropping production to about 4 million bpd. They have since restored all but 270,000 bpd, according to the Canada Energy Regulator. Cenovus Energy Inc, is likely to raise production in December, with volume depending on prices, and expects rivals to re-start their curtailed capacity, Chief Executive, Alex Pourbaix, said last week. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re going to see a signiďŹ cant amount of that come back over the next few months,â&#x20AC;? Pourbaix said in an interview. Suncor Energy Inc. said last week it would raise production at its Fort Hills mine in 2021 and was making improvements at its Firebag site to squeeze out more capacity. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re really looking forward to this being a fully unencumbered market,â&#x20AC;? Chief Executive Mark Little said on Thursday. Suncorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s output looks to rise 10 per cent in 2021, Little said, from expected total 2020 production of 680,000 to 710,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day.

Australian Pension Fund Settles Lawsuit

One of Australiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s largest pension funds on Monday agreed to settle a landmark climate risk litigation ďŹ led by a 25-year-old member who alleged it was failing to protect his retirement savings against climate change. REST acknowledged in a statement that climate change would lead to catastrophic economic and social consequences and that the phenomenon was a â&#x20AC;&#x153;material, direct and current ďŹ nancial riskâ&#x20AC;? to the superannuation fund. According to Reuters, the closely watched case could inďŹ&#x201A;uence how global funds manage such risks in future and trigger similar cases internationally, where asset owners face increased scrutiny in relation to climate change policy and risk reporting. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s settlement gives me, and RESTâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s almost two million members, the reassurance that we need to know that our retirement savings will be invested responsibly in the face of the climate crisis,â&#x20AC;? said plaintiďŹ&#x20AC; Mark McVeigh, who brought the case to the Federal Court of Australia in 2018. David Barnden, principal and director of Equity Generation Lawyers which represented McVeigh, said the case had far-reaching implications for investors and the climate.

â&#x20AC;&#x153;The educational system in Nigeria requires a systemic overhaul. The kind of education required by our youth, is one that should prepare them for employment and entrepreneurship in the digital age â&#x20AC;&#x153; President, CIBN, Mr. Bayo Olugbemi

T H I S D AY Ëž ÍąË&#x153; 2020

BUSINESSWORLD â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;STALLED PIB HAMPERED INVESTMENT IN DOWNSTREAM ASSETS DIGITALISATIONâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; still not deployed technology or digitalised their operations. She noted that even for some companies where the technology had been acquired, there was still a lot being done manually. â&#x20AC;&#x153;For something as simple as measuring what you have in your tank, we still do tank dipping in this day and age, which ordinarily shouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t beâ&#x20AC;?, she said. Akpani, who is also the Chief Executive Officer of Northwest Petroleum & Gas Company, confirmed the availability of asset management systems that could be deployed to achieve the efficient management of downstream petroleum assets. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Supervision and asset monitoring is very important, we also have geographic information systems, and supervisory control. Others include data acquisition and terminal management solutions introduced by Siemens,â&#x20AC;? the DAPPMA boss said. While noting that investments in storage capacity for white products had peaked in Nigeria, Akpani encouraged her counterparts to embark on strategic digitalisation of their downstream petroleum assets in order to boost profitability and promote asset integrity. REPORT: AMNESTY PRIORITISED STABLE OIL PRODUCTION, NOT Nâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;DELTA DEVT about N8.7 billion or $58 million daily from the crisis, but that the initiation of the programme, â&#x20AC;&#x153;was designed to restore oil production to pre-amnesty level and reducing the scale of insecurity in the region.â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;Part of its provision is to support ex-militants with monthly stipends, as well as providing vocational and university education as part of its Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration (DDR) process. â&#x20AC;&#x153;PAP has now existed for more than 10 years, well beyond the planned five years, with its objectives not fulfilled and no end in sight. The programmeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s budget is becoming too heavy and unsustainable in light of competing priorities for the government.

NEWS

Mamman Blames Obsolete Equipment for Epileptic Power Supply Peter Uzoho The Minister of Power, Mr. Sale Mamman has revealed that one of the major problems constraining the efficient transmission and distribution of electricity in the country is the preponderance of poor or obsolete equipment in the power sector. Mamman according to a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Communications, Mr. Aaron Artimas, stated this when he played host to the national executive members of the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE) in his office in Abuja, recently. The minister appealed to Nigerian engineers not to grant certification for any equipment imported or installed on any project except they met the required standard. He called Nigerian engineers to make innovations or designs for various engineering activities as a way of establishing their own standard. Mamman maintained that the country has continued to rely on foreign designs because the countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s engineers have not established their own. The minister assured them that the Ministry of Power

would collaborate with the NSE in its efforts to improve power generation, transmission and distribution in the country. Earlier, the President of the society, Mr. Babagana Mohammed, disclosed that in view of the lingering epileptic power supply in the country, the NSE has constituted an Ad-Hoc com-

mittee to carry out a holistic study and assessment of the problems associated with generation, transmission and distribution of power in Nigeria. He said the initiative was meant to compliment the efforts of government to truthfully revitalise the energy sector. Mohammed, however,

emphasised that the NSE and the Federal Ministry of Power have a collective duty and inescapable responsibility to provide lasting solutions to the power supply problem in Nigeria. He used the occasion to intimate the minister on some of the activities of the society,

which includes, the offer of five years scholarships to some secondary school students to the tune of N16million and donation of N10 million to the federal government through the Nigerian Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) in support of the fight against COVID-19 pandemic in the country.

Joe-Ezigbo: Nigeria Requires 200GW Electricity to Industrialise Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja President of the Nigerian Gas Association (NGA), Mrs. Audrey Joe-Ezigbo, has argued against the about five gigawats of electricity currently being produced in the country, saying for industrialisation to take place, the country should be planning for 200 gigawatts going by the United Nations (UN) standards. Speaking during the a web conference organised by the virtual Oil Trading and Logistics (OTL) Africa Downstream Expo 2020, Joe-Ezigbo stated that Nigeria has

the capacity to achieve the feat, given the enormous gas resources available in the country. She noted that the country has a ready-made market that is willing to be served, adding that thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s no reason a country of 200 million people should be stuck on 5gw of electricity. â&#x20AC;&#x153;As many of us may know, we have over 203 trillion reserves of proven gas and another 600 trillion of unproven reserves, but we are not seeing the impact yet. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We can leverage on gas for economic diversification and build resilience in the economy. Most of the economies that use more

gas were a bit more immune to the twin shocks of the pandemic and oil price crash that have happened in the last one year. â&#x20AC;&#x153;From the power point of view, we are a nation of 200 million power and at best we are producing just 5 gigawatts of power whereas by the UN standard , we should be producing 200 gigawatts because the standard is one gigawatt per one million people,â&#x20AC;? she said. According to her, almost 80 per cent of the countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s generation is thermal power and gas-fired and Nigeria can very quickly leverage to ramp

up power supply in the near future. â&#x20AC;&#x153;There are also huge multipliers because you can leverage gas in industry, homes and power sector and then it can create revenues. â&#x20AC;&#x153;But at the same time we are creating employment which is a huge imperative for our nation. We are constrained by infrastructure. Infrastructure remains a huge conversation as well as the regulatory and legislative framework and general business environment. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Nigerians have come to realise that we have the resource, we

have the market potential and we have the interest generally speaking. We need to find a way to bring it all together,â&#x20AC;? she noted. In his intervention, President , Nigeria Liquefied Petroleum Gas Association (NLPGA), Mr. Nuhu Yakubu, called for a review of the policies in the sector to encourage growth . â&#x20AC;&#x153;There are programmes we should be reviewing , policies and regulations to enable import substitution and begin to apply our own natural endowments for our people, rather than exporting more resources to empower foreign countries.

â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Oil Accounted for 88% US Imports from Nigeria in 2019â&#x20AC;&#x2122; Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja

Group Business Editor

Obinna Chima

Capital Market Editor

Goddy Egene

Comms/e-Business Editor

Emma Okonji

Senior Correspondent

The Congressional Research Service (CRS), a non-partisan group which provides legislative research and analysis for the United States Congress, has disclosed that crude oil accounted for 88 per cent of the countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s $4.4 billion imports from Nigeria in 2019. In its updated research paper titled ,â&#x20AC;?Nigeria: Current Issues and US Policyâ&#x20AC;?, authored for the American lawmakers by an

Analyst in African Affairs, Tomas Husted and Specialist in African Affairs, Lauren Blanchard, the CRS disclosed that Nigeria has maintained its position as the United Statesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; second-largest trading partner in sub-Saharan Africa. The document prepared by persons, America said have in-depth knowledge of happenings in Africa and Nigeria, seeks to help the countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s lawmakers take â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;informedâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; decisions on key issues in the country. â&#x20AC;&#x153;As of 2019, Nigeria was the

United Statesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; second-largest trading partner in sub-Saharan Africa (after South Africa) and third-largest beneficiary of U.S. foreign direct investment (FDI) in the region (after Mauritius and South Africa). â&#x20AC;&#x153;Nigerian exports to the United States are dominated by crude oil, which at $4.4 billion accounted for 88 per cent of U.S. imports from Nigeria in 2019. According to U.S. International Trade Commission data, Nigeria consistently ranks as the top source of exports to the

United States under the African Growth and Opportunity Act,â&#x20AC;? it stated However, it noted that Nigeria also remains a major regional destination for U.S. exports of motor vehicles and refined petroleum products (e.g., gasoline), which are among the fastest-growing U.S. exports to Africa. Agricultural products and machinery, the research group said, are other top U.S. exports to the country, adding that Nigerian demand also has driven growing

U.S. petroleum exports to nearby Togo, a regional transhipment hub. On U.S. foreign assistance globally, the document noted that the USAID allocated $451.4 million in bilateral aid for Nigeria in FY2020, nearly 90 per cent of which supported health programmes. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The administration requested $472.1 million for Nigeria for FY2021, a rare case in Africa in which the Trump Administrationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s aid proposal exceeded the previous yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s allocation.

Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x2019;Ă?Ă?Ă&#x2014; Ă&#x2022;Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x2018;Ă&#x152;Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x2013;Ă&#x; (Advertising) Correspondents

Ă&#x2019;Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2DC;Ă?Ă&#x17D;Ă&#x; Ă¤Ă? (Aviation) Ă&#x153;Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x2014;Ă&#x2122;Ă?Ă?Ă&#x2013;Ă? Ă&#x152;Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x17D;Ă&#x;Ă&#x2DC; (Maritime) James Emejo (Finance) Ebere Nwoji (Insurance) Chineme Okafor (Energy) Emmanuel Addeh (Energy) Reporters

Ă&#x;Ă&#x2014;Ă? Ă&#x2022;Ă?Ă&#x2018;Ă&#x2019;Ă? (Money Market) Ă&#x2122;Ă?Ă&#x2039; Ă&#x2013;Ă?Ă&#x2022;Ă&#x2019;Ă&#x;Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x2018;Ă&#x201C;Ă? (ICT) Peter Uzoho (Energy)

Waltersmith Modular Refinery Nears Completion, Says Firm Chineme Okafor in Abuja Five states in Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s south east region will have daily supply of 271 million litres of refined petroleum products from the 5,000 barrels per day (bpd) modular

refinery of Waltersmith Petroman Oil, promoters of the refinery have disclosed. Expected to come into full operation soon, the refinery in Ibigwe, Imo State will produce diesel, naphtha, heavy fuel oil

(HFO) and kerosene within its first phase, and subsequently produce petrol within its second phase. The chairman of Waltersmith Petroman, Abdulrasaq Isah disclosed in a statement from the firm that supply to the eastern

market was close at hand. He said this when the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mallam Mele Kyari visited the refinery. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We will be producing 271 mil-

lion liters of petroleum products to meet some of the requirement of south eastern market,â&#x20AC;? Isah told Kyari, who was represented by NNPCâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Chief Operating Officer, Gas and Power, during the pre-commissioning visit.

T H I S D AY Ëž ÍąË&#x153; 2020

Momoh: Huge MDAsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Debts Hampering Power Sector Growth Professor James Momoh is the Chairman of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC). In this interactive session on the state of the power sector in the country, he speaks about challenges besetting the industry and what can be done to improve power supply in the country. Emmanuel Addeh presents the excerpts Whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the status of the power sector today? Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s population we are told is over 200 million. But 55 per cent of us do not have access to power. That means over 50 per cent of the country is in darkness on a given day. That means that a country with 200 million cannot do work. Power or energy is the ability to do work. And what that implies is that most of our population is not engaged in any work based on electricity for that period. The World Bank says 41 per cent of businesses in Nigeria runs their own power. If you are making shoes, you have your own generator. If you go to some hotels they all have their own power supply. Can you imagine? So, our country is really in trouble. We are behind. The GDP of the country is as low as N410 billion from the World Bank statistics. And again, Nigeria is only able to generate only 126 kilowatts per capita. That makes it terrible. Every time I show this to people, they say donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t compare us with the rest of the world. That we have our own problems. But I tell them, we have our problems, but we need to solve them. You hear about 5,000mw when you take a snapshot of our Discos in a given hour. But the base load is less than the capital load that is being taken on a given day. How are these challenges affecting the sector? There are many other people generating power off-grid, so thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a lot of money being wasted. People are doing their own thing just to have light. As I said before, there are lots of challenges in the interface between gas, transmission, generation and distribution. Thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a mismatch and that has caused a lot of problems for the Nigerian power sector. The transfer of power from supplier to the customer is hindered by the interface challenges as simple as bad transformers or that trees that are close to power lines are not cut etc. Lack of innovation is another one, then lack of investment is another. If you donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t maintain your system, how can you have a secure and reliable network? You canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t. In comparison to other African countries, how is Nigeria doing? A country like Nigeria with over 200 million people generates 6,800mw. A country like South Africa has 60 million in population and generates 50,000mw. Egypt is 100 million people, half of Nigeria, but they generate over 180,000mw. Ghana next door, 30 million people generates almost 2,500mw. If you leave them, they will outpace us. Thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a big misalignment. If you ask me how many problems we have in Nigeria, they are two: technical challenge in the value chain and this is a serious problem the country is faced with. All the innovation, all the efforts is to solve this problem. We have stranded generation due to gas. We donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have solid gas. Sometimes, we have wet gas. So, the available gas to power the store generators that we have in the stations, we canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t power the generators. And the generation on a given day is 5,000mw, for 200 million people. Then we have to transfer that to transmission of about 7,000 megawatts. It could be 20, it could be 50 tomorrow. Then we have a distribution network thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s weak and fragile. It cannot even take what transmission makes available. So, we now have problems to face. Inadequate infrastructure faces Nigeria and thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s no investment. Where it exists, it is put in the wrong thing. Obsolete equipment also. They have been there in 20, 30 years and nobody is maintaining or repairing them. So, at the end of the day, thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a big mismatch in the value chain. This causes a lot of trouble in terms of commercial losses or technical losses. I have put together a group of five staff I call the strategic unit and I caused them to find a way to make the discos and TCN to work together to see what they can do,

Momoh to fix the transformers in their stations and that Discos will take power when it is given to them. So, all these are part of the work I am doing. How are the recent interventions from various institutions helping out in solving these challenges? The reason Siemens is coming is so that they can provide solutions for Nigeria to solve the interface problem. The reason the World Bank is giving money is to solve the value chain problem. The demand for distribution is 8,000, but what we have currently is 5,000. But hopefully, in 2025, there will be more. Transmission/Disco demand is 9,000mw, but available is 7,000 in 2020 and that was what we forecast. Everybody is doing studies and collecting money so that we can solve these problems. In 2020, Q4, we have put in place a Performance Improvement Plan (PIP) for everybody to tell us how they want to make sure these issues are sorted. For example, how meters, etc are working. We are monitoring this and following up. We must have a new paradigm shift in rates

The reason Siemens is coming is so that they can provide solutions for Nigeria to solve the interface problem. The reason the World Bank is giving money is to solve the value chain problem. The demand for distribution is 8,000, but what we have currently is 5,000. But hopefully, in 2025, there will be more

design in Nigeria. Thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a tariff shortfall, where you are not allowed to charge what is due to be paid. For an invoice of N157 billion, thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a tariff shortfall of N63 billion and whoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s paying for that? Government! Only 51 per cent is allowed for recovery from customers. That means we are dependent on government to recover. Now, government has a problem because itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s saying our schools are not functional, roads are bad, water is borehole. Everything is hogwash. So, government said do your rates design because we can no longer subsidise this. This is what has consumed my energy in the last one year. The Discos came to us and said they needed more money from customers and if donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t give them, they canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t operate well. According to our market rules, we went round the country together. And customers said they were not averse to an increase, but there must be quality supply. It was there that the service based tariff was arrived at where what customers pay is reflected in the service they get. But vulnerable customers wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t be affected. We have to protect them. What about the new tariff structure, can you explain that? The new tariff structure is based on this MYTO that includes exchange rate, inflation rate, GDP, foreign exchange and all those things and we have people in the office who calculate those things and that was what gave us the five bands which represents customers and the quality and reliability of service. For band D, tariff will not change for them, so, but frozen. Band E are the very poor people takes very small power, poor communities in rural areas. We make sure they donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t pay more than N4. Band A, B, C already have infrastructure. So, for example we can assume that thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s power in Asokoro every day. The people in the unions came and sometimes we were here till 7 in the morning. Definitely government cannot pay for A, B, C and that will mean that subsidy will come back and we donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have that money. So, we said that band A should be discounted by 10 per cent and the relief in band B will be 10.5 per cent and because there are many

people in band C, a lot of them are given relief. Above 12 hours will get relief, band B with more than 16 hours will get 10.5 per cent of discount and that will come from VAT. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s split in the sector among A, B, C. The order will be released because I just signed the order. We went to work on Saturday and we have done all the signing. It will be released tomorrow. We can now work and look forward to December and January to see what kind of review we have to do. It wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t remain the same forever. No, thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s another review and it will come with a complete answer. But if the president says donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t do it, we wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t do it. But we know what to do if given a free hand to do the work. There are leakages and losses in the sector. Whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s happening about that? You will hear aggregate technical and commercial losses, it means that you are not able to charge the actual price in Nigeria, so Discos are not able to maintain or improve their facilities because of low tariff. So, government keeps putting money to make sure that subsidies, N213 billion since President Buhari came in 2015, another N701 billion and recently another N600 billion. Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a total of over N1.3 trillion has been put into making sure that discos continue to run and Gencos continue to run. We took a loan recently of $750 million from the World Bank. This country is running the power sector on subsidies and loans from different places and we still havenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t got it right and thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s because of low tariff and poor management and lack of investment from outside. People are still stealing power, energy theft we have to minimise that. There are communities that say we have oil in our neighborhood, we have oil and water in our neighborhood, so we are not going to pay. Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s host community that could stop Discos from collecting. Is government not also complicit in non-payment of electricity bills? There is also the problem with the MDAs, they use electricity, but they donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t pay. So,

CONTINUED ON PAGE 26

T H I S D AY Ëž ÍąË&#x153; 2020

MOMOH: HUGE MDASâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; DEBTS HAMPERING POWER SECTOR GROWTH

Ikeja Electric Commences Implementation of Mass Metering Peter Uzoho

Momoh we are working on how to overcome this and reduce MDA debts, minimising energy theft, changing tariffs and convincing host communities to please pay for electricity use. If you look at the MDAs, in Kaduna Disco alone N460 million; Abuja - N356 million, overall itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s billions of dollars that is out there. We are asking the government to take the money upfront from the MDAs and pay directly to the Discos. Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s coming soon. We are working on it. Even state governments, local governments they are not paying, they are all owing and they expect miracles to happen. How about the metering deďŹ cit in the industry? Another area of challenge is metering. Only 41 per cent is metered. What happens to the rest? They do estimate and bogus billing which nobody really likes. If you look at the Discos, all Discos combined is 41 per cent. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s terrible. A country thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s selling power and doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have meters for its people. Collections losses are high. The new initiative is to provide meters so that people can pay for what they use and optimise or save energy they donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t want to pay for. On metering, we want to close the gap of six million meters. We have done enumeration and we introduced the meter asset providers, an independent investor who provides the money. But we ran into a roadblock because as we were doing it, customs duty was imposed on the MAP providers. So, they couldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t sell for the price agreed and it slowed things down. The president and the presidential initiative have now removed that customs duty. That led to a new initiative which is the production of meters, so I say to people if you want to do business go into the manufacturing of meters. The Discos must also reduce ATC&C losses. Local content is a must. Human capital is very important. We set up the NERC academy. The Siemens project is ready to go. That proposal I contributed in reviewing and I was in the villa so many times. Can you break down the lack of coordination and sometimes overlapping functions in the sector? We need a clear policy for growth because if we are not there, we will still be going from Gencos to NBET etc. We need a situation where people know how much power they use because itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a contract. There has to be compliance. There are two kinds of shortfall, market shortfall and Disco shortfall. We have to clean up the books of the Discos. There must be minimum amount they can pay when invoice comes. They canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t just say

they have no money. We will take it directly from the central bank. All these initiatives are important, but as a systems person, thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s no coordination, no planning of what comes first if one function overlaps. Thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a lot of litigations. Why is strict enforcement a problem? If subsidy goes up, national goals of government will be seriously challenged. So, what do we do? What we went through in the last month, because of remittances if Discos are not improved and enforcement is stricter, the sector will face liquidity crisis. How do you force them to pay back? Local and foreign investment will dry up if returns on investment is poor, perception will deteriorate. Long transmission lines are causing loss of money. My recommendation is a redistributing of the network. Take for example, Azura in Benin. Thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s no business there and thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a contract of take or pay whether we like it or not. So, if thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s no network connecting to Lagos or Oshogbo, then itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not useful. Canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t we redesign the network? I have put that together but the discussion is not today. Olorunshogo or those people in Ikeja can create business and market power around the area. In terms of resource allocation, thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s many projects going but no priority, coordination or Pareto usage. Are you collaborating with Nigerians in the engineering ďŹ eld? I proposed a need for a research institute. We have started consultation and collaboration with nine Nigerian universities to promote growth. They have written papers. People underestimate our Nigerian universities, but I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t because I have worked with them in the past. Ahmadu Bello, Uniben, FUT Minna, Unilag etc. I reached out to them and they were happy that for the first time industry reached out to them to find a way to solve Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s problems. I am very confident. What are you doing to resolve the load rejection issue? The question is do Discos take power from TCN. Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s where the blame game came from. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s either the argument is they are putting it in the wrong place or where some are saying they cannot make money. But we are resolving that. The Discos and Gencos have signed a service level agreement so there are penalties. In the past, there was nothing in place. The day is coming soon when Discos will be able to buy power directly from Gencos, but now we still need to go to NBET and TCN.

Ikeja Electric (IE) has commenced the implementation of the National Mass Metering Programme (NMMP) across its Strategic Business Units. The firm aims to deploy 106,701 prepaid electricity meters allocated it within the next two months. IE flagged off the roll out of the meters at the weekend at its Oshodi Business Unit, same day three other distribution companies namely Eko Electricity Distribution Company, Kaduna and Kano Distribution Companies also kicked off their roll outs. IE in a statement said, â&#x20AC;&#x153;in line with this programme, Ikeja Electric Plc (IE) is committed to driving the roll out through a series of one-day metering initiative across different locations in its network. These metering initiative is designed to ensure a seamless metering process that allows customers to register and be metered on the same day after following due process. â&#x20AC;&#x153;For the first phase of the programme, which will run till the end of the year, Ikeja Electric is rolling out over 106,000 prepaid meters to customers across its six Business Units - Ikeja, Abule-Egba, Akowonjo, Oshodi, Ikorodu and Shomolu.â&#x20AC;? It said the beneficiaries of the programme, which would cut across all locations in IE network, will not be required to pay upfront for the installation of meters. It explained that rather, the modalities of cost recovery for the meters will be clearly defined and communicated to the beneficiaries. It further explained that the primary objective of the NMMP was to increase the metering rate in the country and close the gap of unmetered customers. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It is also expected that it will assist in reducing collection losses, while at the same time, increasing financial flows to achieve 100 percent market remittance obligation of the Discos. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Part of the objectives also include

the elimination of arbitrary estimated billing, improving network monitoring capability and provision of data for market administration and investment decision-making. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Apart from its job creation potentials in the Meter value chain, the program will further strengthen the local meter value chain by increasing local meter manufacturing, assembly and deployment capacity, all in support of Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s economic recovery plan,â&#x20AC;? IE said. The Disco, however, restated its commitment to bridging the metering gap by metering all its customers, to ensure an efficiently managed electricity supply industry that meets the yearnings of Nigerians. Explaining the process further, the Business Manager, Oshodi Business Unit, IE, Mr. Taofeek Alade Basanya, said: â&#x20AC;&#x153;We will visit a particular estate and all the customers that have not been metered there will apply that same day, they will be surveyed and the metering will be done the same day. â&#x20AC;&#x153;And that is what we are going to commence here today in Victory Estate (Ago Palace Way, Lagos). 288 meters will be deployed in this estate.â&#x20AC;? He also explained that the Meter Asset Provider (MAP) programme had not been scrapped or pushed aside, saying the NMMP was going to run concurrently with the MAP initiative. â&#x20AC;&#x153;So the two of them will run together: one is not going to stop f o r t h e o t h e r. We a re w o r k i n g in partnership with the MAP. They are working with us in the new initiative. As a matter of fact, the MAP you are seeing here today is Mojec International and it is one of the MAP that we have been using before. On the recovery of the cost of the meters under the NMMP, Obasanya, said â&#x20AC;&#x153;the regulator has not told us exactly the way and manner we are going to recoup the cost but the cost is definitely going to be recoupedâ&#x20AC;?.

Firm Seeks N100bn Fund to Tackle Youth Unemployment Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja FHT Ventures Plc, a mass housing and property development firm in collaboration with its overseas partners has said it is in the process of sourcing for about N100 billion to be devoted to building low-cost houses as well funding agriculture for youths in the country. Chairman of the company, Mr. Olubunmi Adewa-Faboro, who spoke in Abuja, noted that the project seeks to explore Nigerian potential and the provision of mortgage based affordable homes, using local materials and appropriate technology. He added that while the company and its associates are core investors, the government participation will be in the form of provision of project sites which will also be collaboration with the Central Bank, especially to access its intervention funds in agriculture and affordable homes. Adewa-Faboro explained that the World Bank and other development banks will be fully involved, adding that 1,000 youth entrepreneurs will be trained and empowered in every state in Nigeria in the projectâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s first phase spanning November 2020 to November 2021. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Intervention fund shall be sourced per state from the Central Bank of Nigeria using the available platforms already existing with the designated Micro Finance Banks and the Federal Ministry

of Youth and Sports Development while FHT Ventures Plc. shall raise equity from the capital market â&#x20AC;&#x153;The youth coalition shall be coordinated through cooperative societies in every state in Nigeria with Board of Directors to be coordinated by FHT Ventures Plc. and their Associates while the youth coalition shall mobilise all the Nigerian youths within the ages of 18 years to 45 years within 12 calendar months with sustainable data base that will be updated quarterly within other years, â&#x20AC;? the chairman said. He added that the project will take off immediately with an agro-export scheme to many countries with youth entrepreneurs to be positioned through the training to access intervention fund from the government. In his remarks, National President, Nigeria Youth and Student Coalition (NYSC) Mr Mumeen Ibrahim, noted that youth unemployment can be tackled with adequate housing and agriculture and remains a viable way of stopping youth restiveness in country. â&#x20AC;&#x153;There is a need for more involvement of the youth population to embrace the business of agriculture. To this end, FHT Ventures PLC in partnership with Nigeria youth and students coalition has initiated modalities for this programme,â&#x20AC;? he stated. He urged the government to be intentional in encouraging private and public partnerships and sought for the full cooperation of Nigerians in a bid to ensure that the scheme succeeds.

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2020 ˾ T H I S D AY

MARKET NEWS

Jaiz Bank Shareholders Approve N3.3bn Injection Goddy Egene Jaiz Bank Plc is to inject fresh capital

of N3.3 billion into its operations through a private placement. The approval was given by the

A Mutual fund (Unit Trust) is an investment vehicle managed by a SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) registered Fund Manager. Investors with similar objectives buy units of the Fund so that the Fund Manager can buy securities that willl generate their desired return. An ETF (Exchange Traded Fund) is a type of fund which owns the assets (shares of stock, bonds, oil futures, gold bars, foreign currency, etc.) and divides ownership of those assets into shares. Investors can buy these ‘shares’ on the

shareholders of the bank at an extra-ordinary meeting (EGM) held last week.

floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange. A REIT (Real Estate Investment Trust) is an investment vehicle that allows both small and large investors to part-own real estate ventures (eg. Offices, Houses, Hospitals) in proportion to their investments. The assets are divided into shares that are traded on the Nigerian Stock Exchange. GUIDE TO DATA: Date: All fund prices are quoted in Naira as at 30Oct-2020, unless otherwise stated.

The shareholders approved that subject to obtaining the requisite regulatory approvals, 5,076,923,077

ordinary shares of the bank shall be offered to the identified investor for the private placement at 65 kobo

per share. This shows a premium of 12 per cent on the 58 kobo share price of Jaiz Bank as at yesterday.

Offer price: The price at which units of a trust or ETF are bought by investors. Bid Price: The price at which Investors redeem (sell) units of a trust or ETF. Yield/Total Return: Denotes the total return an investor would have earned on his investment. Money Market Funds report Yield while others report Year- to-date Total Return. NAV: Is value per share of the real estate assets held by a REIT on a specific date.

DAILY PRICE LIST FOR MUTUAL FUNDS, REITS and ETFS MUTUAL FUNDS / UNIT TRUSTS AFRINVEST ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD aaml@afrinvest.com Web: www.afrinvest.com; Tel: +234 818 885 6757 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Afrinvest Equity Fund N/A N/A N/A Afrinvest Plutus Fund N/A N/A N/A Nigeria International Debt Fund N/A N/A N/A ALTERNATIVE CAPITAL PARTNERS LTD info@acapng.com Web: www.acapng.com, Tel: +234 1 291 2406, +234 1 291 2868 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn ACAP Canary Growth Fund N/A N/A N/A ACAP Income Funds N/A N/A N/A AIICO CAPITAL LTD ammf@aiicocapital.com Web: www.aiicocapital.com, Tel: +234-1-2792974 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn AIICO Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 3.64% AIICO Balanced Fund 3.76 3.88 53.47% ANCHORIA ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED info@anchoriaam.com Web:www.anchoriaam.com, Tel: 08166830267; 08036814510; 08028419180 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Anchoria Money Market 100.00 100.00 0.84% Anchoria Equity Fund 120.27 120.69 15.25% Anchoria Fixed Income Fund 1.46 1.46 21.92% ARM INVESTMENT MANAGERS LTD enquiries@arminvestmentcenter.com Web: www.arm.com.ng; Tel: 0700 CALLARM (0700 225 5276) Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn ARM Aggressive Growth Fund 17.08 17.59 11.48% ARM Discovery Balanced Fund 381.96 393.47 10.57% ARM Ethical Fund 32.45 33.43 11.59% ARM Eurobond Fund ($) 1.16 1.16 15.86% ARM Fixed Income Fund 1.13 1.13 12.92% ARM Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 2.43% AXA MANSARD INVESTMENTS LIMITED investmentcare@axamansard.com Web: www.axamansard.com; Tel: +2341-4488482 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn AXA Mansard Equity Income Fund 115.76 116.57 20.48% AXA Mansard Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 2.05% CAPITAL EXPRESS ASSET AND TRUST LIMITED info@capitalexpressassetandtrust.com Web: www.capitalexpressassetandtrust.com ; Tel: +234 803 307 5048 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn CEAT Fixed Income Fund 2.30 2.30 23.15% Capital Express Balanced Fund(Formerly: Union Trustees Mixed Fund) 2.16 2.19 44.34% CHAPELHILL DENHAM MANAGEMENT LTD investmentmanagement@chapelhilldenham.com Web: www.chapelhilldenham.com, Tel: +234 461 0691 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Chapelhill Denham Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 3.96% Paramount Equity Fund 14.22 14.49 13.66% Women's Investment Fund 124.93 126.22 13.23% CORDROS ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED assetmgtteam@cordros.com Web: www.cordros.com, Tel: 019036947 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Cordros Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 2.58% Cordros Milestone Fund 2023 123.83 124.40 Cordros Milestone Fund 2028 136.78 137.87 Cordros Dollar Fund ($) 103.53 103.53 CORONATION ASSEST MANAGEMENT investment@coronationam.com Web:www.coronationam.com , Tel: 012366215 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Coronation Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 2.33% Coronation Balanced Fund 1.09 1.10 17.54% Coronation Fixed Income Fund 1.75 1.75 31.76% EDC FUNDS MANAGEMENT LIMITED mutualfundng@ecobank.com Web: www.ecobank.com Tel: 012265281 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn EDC Nigeria Money Market Fund Class A 100.00 100.00 2.27% EDC Nigeria Money Market Fund Class B 1,000,000.00 1,000,000.00 1.45% EDC Nigeria Fixed Income Fund 1,186.72 1,202.34 7.10% FBNQUEST ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD invest@fbnquest.com Web: www.fbnquest.com/asset-management; Tel: +234-81 0082 0082 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn FBN Fixed Income Fund 1,533.12 1,534.70 25.02% FBN Balanced Fund 171.88 173.22 17.07% FBN Halal Fund 109.37 109.38 9.37% FBN Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 2.27% FBN Nigeria Eurobond (USD) Fund - Institutional 117.07 117.45 3.88% FBN Nigeria Eurobond (USD) Fund - Retail 117.07 117.46 3.37% FBN Smart Beta Equity Fund 139.68 141.87 7.34% FCMB ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED fcmbamhelpdesk@fcmb.com Web: www.fcmbassetmanagement.com; Tel: +234 1 462 2596 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Legacy Money Market Fund N/A N/A N/A Legacy Debt Fund N/A N/A N/A Legacy Equity Fund N/A N/A N/A Legacy USD Bond Fund N/A N/A N/A FSDH ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD coralfunds@fsdhgroup.com Web: www.fsdhaml.com; Tel: 01-270 4884-5; 01-280 9740-1 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Coral Growth Fund 3,441.94 3,478.91 13.14% Coral Income Fund 3,212.95 3,212.95 4.46% FSDH Treasury Bills Fund 100.00 100.00 3.44% GREENWICH ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED assetmanagement@gtlgroup.com Web: www.gtlgroup.com ; Tel: +234 1 4619261-2 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Greenwich Plus Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 2.80% Nigeria Entertainment Fund 125.50 126.03 16.13%

GROWTH & DEVELOPMENT ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED assetmanagement@gdl.com.ng Web: www.gdl.com.ng ; Tel: +234 9055691122 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn GDL Money Market Fund N/A N/A N/A INVESTMENT ONE FUNDS MANAGEMENT LTD enquiries@investment-one.com Web: www.investment-one.com; Tel: +234 812 992 1045,+234 1 448 8888 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Abacus Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 2.42% Vantage Balanced Fund 2.50 2.55 14.12% Vantage Guaranteed Income Fund 1.00 1.00 7.50% Kedari Investment Fund (KIF) 152.69 153.50 6.54% LOTUS CAPITAL LTD ﬁncon@lotuscapitallimited.com Web: www.lotuscapitallimited.com; Tel: +234 1-291 4626 / +234 1-291 4624 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Lotus Halal Investment Fund N/A N/A N/A Lotus Halal Fixed Income Fund N/A N/A N/A MERISTEM WEALTH MANAGEMENT LTD info@meristemwealth.com Web: http://www.meristemwealth.com/funds/ ; Tel: +234 1-4488260 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Meristem Equity Market Fund N/A N/A N/A Meristem Money Market Fund N/A N/A N/A PAC ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD info@pacassetmanagement.com Web: www.pacassetmanagement.com/mutualfunds; Tel: +234 1 271 8632 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn PACAM Balanced Fund 1.48 1.50 20.36% PACAM Fixed Income Fund 11.77 11.86 4.74% PACAM Money Market Fund 10.00 10.00 2.43% PACAM Equity Fund 1.32 1.33 PACAM EuroBond Fund 108.87 111.18 SCM CAPITAL LIMITED info@scmcapitalng.com Web: www.scmcapitalng.com; Tel: +234 1-280 2226,+234 1- 280 2227 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn SCM Capital Frontier Fund 131.08 133.81 3.73% SFS CAPITAL NIGERIA LTD investments@sfsnigeria.com Web: www.sfsnigeria.com, Tel: +234 (01) 2801400 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn SFS Fixed Income Fund 1.01 1.01 7.96% STANBIC IBTC ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD assetmanagement@stanbicibtc.com Web: www.stanbicibtcassetmanagement.com; Tel: +234 1 280 1266; 0700 MUTUALFUNDS Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Stanbic IBTC Balanced Fund 2,521.35 2,532.80 19.75% Stanbic IBTC Bond Fund 210.33 210.33 5.86% Stanbic IBTC Ethical Fund 0.88 0.89 17.22% Stanbic IBTC Guaranteed Investment Fund 273.87 273.95 6.92% Stanbic IBTC Iman Fund 154.92 156.64 19.53% Stanbic IBTC Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 2.32% Stanbic IBTC Nigerian Equity Fund 7,674.15 7,756.30 15.02% Stanbic IBTC Dollar Fund (USD) 1.21 1.21 4.67% Stanbic IBTC Shariah Fixed Income Fund 110.25 110.25 5.80% UNITED CAPITAL ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD Web: www.unitedcapitalplcgroup.com; Tel: +234 803 306 2887 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn United Capital Balanced Fund 1.32 1.33 10.17% United Capital Bond Fund 1.87 1.87 8.02% United Capital Equity Fund 0.77 0.79 9.01% United Capital Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 3.24% United Capital Eurobond Fund 115.53 115.53 5.72% United Capital Wealth for Women Fund 1.04 1.05 -1.11% QUANTUM ZENITH ASSET MANAGEMENT & INVESTMENTS LTD service@quantumzenithasset.com.ng Web: www.quantumzenith.com.ng; Tel: +234 1-2784219 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Zenith Equity Fund 11.35 11.48 10.40% Zenith Ethical Fund 12.53 12.64 7.78% Zenith Income Fund 24.59 24.59 8.27% Zenith Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 2.48%

REITS NAV Per Share

Fund Name SFS Skye Shelter Fund

Yield / T-Rtn

119.09

6.12%

53.51

2.80%

Bid Price

Offer Price

Yield / T-Rtn

9.56 108.78 80.63

9.66 108.78 82.11

14.36% 13.93% 7.32%

Union Homes REIT

EXCHANGE TRADED FUNDS Fund Name Lotus Halal Equity Exchange Traded Fund SIAML Pension ETF 40 Stanbic IBTC ETF 30 Fund

VETIVA FUND MANAGERS LTD Web: www.vetiva.com; Tel: +234 1 453 0697 Fund Name Vetiva Banking Exchange Traded Fund Vetiva Consumer Goods Exchange Traded Fund Vetiva Grifﬁn 30 Exchange Traded Fund Vetiva Money Market Fund Vetiva Industrial Goods Exchange Traded Fund Vetiva S&P Nigeria Sovereign Bond Exchange Traded Fund

funds@vetiva.com Bid Price

Offer Price

Yield / T-Rtn

N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A

NAV Per Share

Yield / T-Rtn

108.03

15.02%

INFRASTRUCTURE FUND Fund Name Chapel Hill Denham Nigeria Infrastructure Debt Fund

The value of investments and the income from them may fall as well as rise. Past performance is a guide and not an indication of future returns. Fund prices published in this edition are also available on each fund manager’s website and FMAN’s website at www.fman.com.ng. Fund prices are supplied by the operator of the relevant fund and are published for information purposes only.

T H I S D AY Ëž ÍąË&#x153; 2020

BUSINESS/MONEYGUIDE

â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;DeregulationWill Reduce Corruptionin OilIndustryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Emmanuel Addeh Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2DC; Ă&#x152;Ă&#x;Ă&#x201D;Ă&#x2039; Members of the Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN) , a group comprising 11 Plc, Conoil Plc, Forte Oil Plc, MRS Oil Nigeria Plc, OVH Energy Marketing Limited and Total Nigeria Plc, have said current efforts to deregulate the oil and gas sector will considerably reduce corruption in the sector. Speaking on the last day of a webinar series organised by the virtual Oil Trading and Logistics (OTL) Africa Downstream Expo 2020, Chairman of the association, Mr. Adetunji Oyebanji, noted that historically, the industryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s operations had been opaque and called for self-regulation by stakeholders even when the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) becomes operational. He advocated a strong regulatory framework which promptly sanctions defaulters , including those who breach anti-competition and anti-trust laws, saying that cases of sleaze will always arise when monitoring and compliance is not taken seriously. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Under a regulated environ-

ment, maybe thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s only one person supplying, then you find that someone is sitting somewhere and allocating products to everybody. Apart from smuggling, this corruption is part of the reasons we have long advocated deregulation of the industry. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Self-regulation is the best form of regulation and fills the gap in the industryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s non-adherence to international standards and best practices aimed at ensuring safety in the sector and building self- confidence and trust in the industry. â&#x20AC;&#x153;So, over and beyond what is prescribed by the PIB, players themselves should regulate themselves. There has to be a charter, setting the dos and dontâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s for operators and members in terms of HSE, corporate governance, excellence in service and penalties for erring members who do not adhere to these guidelines,â&#x20AC;? he argued. On monitoring by the regulators, he said: â&#x20AC;&#x153;There must be periodic visits to terminals, retail outlets and other facilities to assess standards of operations and safety. â&#x20AC;&#x153;There should be periodic

testing of products to ensure adherence with agreed specifications as we move to this fully legislative regulatory environment that we are going into. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The regulator in the new PIB in the downstream, a lot of what they should be doing is collaboration and consulting with the industry to ensure that the rules set for the industry are apt and appropriate and they have a buy-in and input of all stakeholders. â&#x20AC;&#x153;A lot of what they should be doing is intervening if anti-competition and anti-trust rules are broken by the industry.â&#x20AC;? He stated that the industry must now begin to take the complaints of Nigerians very seriously because many of the issues would not arise if there was self-censorship. â&#x20AC;&#x153;People do not understand how prices are arrived at and this is a product that they really do not have any choice but to buy. I am never very happy because the complaint is that the prices go up too quickly and when they are supposed to go down, they donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t go down fast enough.

EKEDC Begins Mass Meter Deployment to Customers The Eko Electricity Distribution Company (EKEDC) said it has commenced the distribution of smart electricity meters to its customers. The scheme was simultaneously launched in Kano, Kaduna, Ikeja and the EKEDC franchise areas. In a statement signed by the General Manager, Corporate Communications, EKEDC, Godwin Idemudia, the Disco kick-started the distribution of its electricity meters at the Surulere axis, one of the areas within its distribution network in Lagos. Speaking further, Idemudia said the National Mass Metering Programme (NMMP) was in fulfilment of the federal governmentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s and the Discos commitments to close the metering gap in the country and enhance the revenue collection of the distribution companies.

He said under the new arrangement distribution companies are expected to go from location to location with their respective Meter Asset Providers to provide and install meters for their customers. Eko Electricity was expected to roll-out over 100,000 meters in the first phase of the programme from the locally manufactured companies such as Mojec International Limited and Momas Meter manufacturing\ company. Idemudia disclosed that the National Mass Metering Program (NMMP) would increase Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s metering rate, eliminate estimated billing and strengthen the local meter value chain by increasing local meter manufacturing, assembly and deployment capacity. He added that the initiative would also reduce collection losses, increase financial flows to

achieve 100 per cent market remittance obligations of the Discos and support Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s economic recovery by creating jobs in the local meter value chain whilst also ensuring customers only pay the exact value for their energy consumption. He revealed that key stakeholders to monitor the launch of the meter distribution include Lagos State Government representatives, the Senate Committee and House of Representative Chairmen on Power as well as representatives of Organized Labour and Civil Society Organizations. The National Mass Metering Programme (NNMP) is expected to roll out 6 million meters for all connection points on grid without meters over the next 18 to 24 months and estimated to impact over 30 million consumers nationwide.

Unity Bank Unveils UnityCares to Boost Access to Healthcare Unity Bank Plc has launched a product called UnityCares. This followed the creation of credit support intervention fund by the Central Bank of Nigeria for the health sector. The product is expected to ease the facilitation of on-lending scheme targeted at individuals, businesses, manufacturers and services providers in the healthcare sector. According to a statement, UnityCares is a credit scheme aimed at supporting indigenous pharmaceutical companies and healthcare practitioners and other value chains businesses to provide access to loan facilities of up to N2 billion per company at five per cent interest rate. The new UnityCare product would thus cater to improve access to affordable credits by players, reduce medical tourism and conserve

foreign exchange. It is also aimed at providing long-term, low-cost finance for healthcare infrastructural development, healthcare product manufacturing, healthcare services and pharmaceutical/medical product distribution and logistics services. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Leveraging on the Central Bank of Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s credit support intervention for the health sector, UnityCares hopes to empower as many enterprises as meet the requirements for the facility. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The main target beneficiaries of the credit scheme include healthcare product manufacturers â&#x20AC;&#x201C; pharmaceutical drugs and medical equipment; healthcare service providers/medical facilities such as hospitals/clinics; diagnostic centres/laboratories; fitness and wellness centres; rehabilitation centres; dialysis centres and blood

bank operators. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Others include the pharmaceutical/medical products distribution and logistics services and other human healthcare service providers as may be determined by the CBN from time to time. â&#x20AC;&#x153;To benefit from the UnityCares facility, a healthcare organisation may not need an account with Unity Bank to benefit from the on-lending scheme,â&#x20AC;? the bank stated. Commenting on the new UnityCares product, Divisional Head, Retail, SME & E-business, Unity Bank Plc, Mr. Olufunwa Akinmade said: â&#x20AC;&#x153;UnityCares provides an invaluable opportunity to channel funds to Nigerian-owned healthcare businesses to build and expand capacity to meet exigencies for essential healthcare products and services in the face of unravelling global pandemic.

MARKET INDICATORS MONEY AND CREDIT STATISTICS

(MILLION NAIRA)

JULY 2020 Money Supply (M3)

36,822,751.47

-- CBN Bills Held by Money Holding Sectors

3,476,121.25

Money Supply (M2)

33,346,630.22

-- Quasi Money

120,764,479.02

-- Narrow Money (M1)

12,582,151.19

---- Currency Outside Banks

2,002,026.89

---- Demand Deposits

10,580,124.31

Net Foreign Assets (NFA)

7,637,137.23

Net Domestic Assets(NDA)

29,185,614.24

-- Net Domestic Credit (NDC)

39,711,115.95

---- Credit to Government (Net)

19,521,851.08

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

0.00

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

0.00

---- Credit to Private Sector (CPS)

-130,189,264.87

--Other Assets Net

3,472,017.70

Reserve Money (Base Money

13,421,827.07

--Currency in Circulation

2,395,917.03

--Banks Reserves --Special Intervention Reserves

11,025,910.04 317,234.17

Ëž Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x;Ă&#x153;Ă?Ă? Ě&#x2039;

Money Market Indicators (in Percentage) Month

March 2018

Inter-Bank Call Rate

15.16

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

14.00

Treasury Bill Rate

11.84

Savings Deposit Rate

4.07

1 Month Deposit Rate

8.82

3 Months Deposit Rate

9.72

6 Months Deposit Rate

10.93

12 Months Deposit Rate

10.21

Prime Lending rate

17.35

Maximum Lending Rate

31.55

Ëž Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x2DC;Ă?Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x153;ĂŁ Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x2013;Ă&#x201C;Ă?ĂŁ Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x17E;Ă? Ě&#x2039; ÍŻÍąĎą

OPEC DAILY BASKET PRICE Ë&#x153; Í°Íˇ Í°ÍŽÍ°ÍŽ

The price of OPEC basket of thirteen crudes stood at $36.50 a barrel on Friday, compared with $37.12 the previous day, according to OPEC Secretariat calculations. The OPEC Reference Basket of Crudes (ORB) is made up of the following: Saharan Blend (Algeria), Girassol (Angola), Djeno (Congo), ZaďŹ ro (Equatorial Guinea), Rabi Light (Gabon), Iran Heavy (Islamic Republic of Iran), Basra Light (Iraq), Kuwait Export (Kuwait), Es Sider (Libya), Bonny Light (Nigeria), Arab Light (Saudi Arabia), Murban (UAE) and Merey (Venezuela) SOURCE: OPEC headquarters, Vienna

T H I S D AY Ëž ÍąË&#x153; Í°ÍŽÍ°ÍŽ

Dangote Sugar Refinery Grows Nine-monthâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Profit by 81% to N27bn Goddy Egene Dangote Sugar Refinery (DSR) Plc has grown its profit after tax for the nine months ended September 30, 2020, by 81 per cent, thereby giving shareholders reason to salivate ahead of the end of the financial year. Details of the results showed that DSR posted a revenue of N160.514 billion, indicating a an increase of 36.6 per cent from N117.425 billion in the

corresponding period of 2019. Selling and distribution expenses declined from N606 million to N496 million, while administrative expenses rose from N5.631 billion toN6.235 billion in 2020. Financing expenses also soared to N1.948 billion, compared with N85 million in 2019. Profit before tax grew by 26.9 per cent to N29.1 billion in2020, up from N22.968 billion. A lower tax payment enhanced the profit

P R I C E S MAIN BOARD

F O R DEALS

after tax to grew faster at 81.1 per cent to N26.629 billion as against N14.703billion recorded in 2019. DSR last July formally took over Savannah Sugar CompanyLimited(SSCL) in a bid to boost production capacity and further increase its market share. The merger of the two firms to become sub-Saharan Africaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s largest sugar refining supported the companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s backward integration plan to revolutionise the

S E C U R I T I E S MARKET PRICE

QUANTITY TRADED

VALUE TRADED ( N )

sugar sub-sector of the nationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s economy. Chairman of DSR, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, had said the company would be leveraging SSCLâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s sugarcane plantation to enhance its production capacity. According to him, SSCL has 32,000 hectares of land available for cultivation of sugar cane as well as milling capacity of 50,000 tonnes of sugar per annum and that

T R A D E D MAIN BOARD

A S

upon the merger, further investments would be made to increase SSCL land under cultivation. Dangote had explained that the DSR board considered the merger as fair and reasonable and believed that it would provide strategic opportunities and benefits for the company, employees and other stakeholders as the new company would be operating from the position of increased access to capital

O F

and then higher profitability. Dangote had listed some of the benefits of the merger as being to consolidate the assets, intellectual property rights, operations, and business dealings of the SSCL into the DSR; eliminate cost inefficiencies arising from duplication of resources and processes and improve the efficiency through more focused management of resources and position it as the biggest integrated sugar producer in Nigeria.

3 0 / 1 0 / 2 0 2 0 DEALS

MARKET PRICE

QUANTITY TRADED

VALUE TRADED ( N)

TUESDAY NOVEMBER 3, 2020 ˾ T H I S D AY

24 HOURS...

FG Blames Past Govt for ASUU Strike Lecturers insist on UTAS payment system The Minister of Education, Malam Adamu Adamu, has blamed a previous administration for the continuous strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU). This is coming as the union has insisted on the adoption of its recently invented payment system for universities with the

name University Transparency and Accountability Solution (UTAS) as payment platform, against the federal government’s Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS). Although Adamu did not refer to any particular administration, he said that that government shouldn’t

have entered into an agreement with ASUU to pay them N1.3trilion when it knew it couldn’t pay it. He said this while answering a question asked by a Corp Member, during a Town Hall meeting on security issues tagged ‘Engaging the Youth and Communities’ at

the Multi-Purpose Indoor Sports Hall Complex Bauchi yesterday. The event was organised by the state government at the instance of the federal government. He said the insolvable problem that had resulted in incessant strikes by the ASUU was that ‘a

government in this country went and sat down with ASUU and agreed on some conditions that it would pay universities N1.3 trillion’. “I do believe that while they were signing that agreement, they knew that it is not possible for them to implement it. There is just nowhere

N1.3trillion will come out from. “I think the basic problem between the ASUU side and the government side has been deciding on what to do about this N1.3 trillion. If a government appends its signature to an agreement, it is an agreement,” he said.

APC: PDP Has Penchant for Diverting Counter-insurgency Funds Adedayo Akinwale The war of words between the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) over the rescue operation carried out in Nigeria by the United States Seal team to rescue her citizen continued yesterday with the APC accusing the main opposition party of having penchant for diverting and sharing counter-insurgency funds to its political cronies. The PDP had in a statement said the swift operation by the United States to rescue her citizen held hostage by bandits on Nigerian soil has further confirmed that President Muhammadu Buhari Presidency can neither secure the territorial integrity of the nation nor arrest the wave of insecurity ravaging

our country under its inept watch. But the APC in its reaction accused the main opposition party of playing politics with national security. The Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the party, Mr. Yekini Nabena, in a statement said the ruling party would not be dragged into an exchange with the PDP in its plot to gain selfish and insensitive political capital from issues of national security. He insisted that as with the case of Saturday’s rescue of a kidnapped American citizen in Nigeria by US special forces, combating terrorism and other emerging cross border crimes require international collaborations and assistance when necessary.

PDP Urges Buhari to Rejig Security Apparatchik in Nigeria Chuks Okocha in Abuja The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) yesterday called on President Muhammadu Buhari to rejig the security network of the country. The PDP maintained that it is a national embarrassment that a foreign military could conduct such a stink operation without the knowledge of the Nigeria Armed Forces. The party also berated the presidency for its continued silence over the rescue of the American in the Nigerian territory without the consent and knowledge of the country’s armed forces. It also lambasted the Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Governor Mai Mala Buni, for purportedly politicising the President Buhari administration in ability to stem the tide of insecurity,

particularly in the northern parts of the country. The PDP also slammed APC for mismanaging the security territorial integrity of Nigeria, which it said has led as embarrassing takeover of Nigerian soil by foreign militaries. The party in a statement issued by its National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, said the mere fact that the United States Blue Seal operated and rescued a kidnapped American remains an embarrassment to the national integrity of the country. According to PDP, “If anything, the silence by the Buhari presidency on this sticking embarrassment tends to indicate its acceptance of PDP’s positionthatitcanneithersecure the territorial integrity of our nation nor arrest the wave of insecurity ravaging our country.

ALL EYES ON FINANCE…

L-R: Chief Finance Officer, DLM Capital Group, Mr. Kennedy Ighodaro; Group Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Sonnie Ayere; Chief Executive Officer, Nigeria Mortgage Refinance Company (NMRC),Mr. Kehinde Ogundimu; and the Acting Chief Finance Officer, NMRC, Mr. Kanayo Mba, at the signing ceremony of 10 billion Series 3 Nigeria Mortgage Refinance Company Bond Issuance in Lagos … Yesterday SUNDAY ADIGUN

Plateau Warns against Submitting Frivolous Petitions to Police Panel Seriki Adinoyi in Jos Plateau State Government has warned the public to desist from submitting frivolous petitions to the state Judicial Panel of Inquiry investigating alleged police brutality and other related killings in the state, adding that “if you bring fake cases before the panel, you will risk seven years jail term.”

This is even as the registrar of the panel, Mr. Mark Mallan has disclosed that only three memoranda have been received by the panel, two weeks after it was set up. He said, “so far, we have received three memoranda. We are expecting that more will be submitted by members of the public before the panel commences hearing on the cases.”

The panel held its inaugural sitting at the Azi Nyako Youth Centre in Jos yesterday. Mallan added that “as it is, we have set November 16, 2020 to start hearing on the petitions and it is then that we will determine the number of days the panel will sit in a week. “ At the inaugural sitting, Chairman of the Judicial Panel, Justice Philomena Lot said that

the commission has the mandate to receive and investigate any complaints brought before it in line with its mission and would thereafter recommend compensation and other remedial measures after evaluating evidence on the validity of the complaints. According to her, the panel has six months within which to complete its assignment and submit reports.

Okowa Releases Funds to AssistVictims of Flooding in Delta Omon-Julius OnabuinAsaba Following outcry of residents of areas devastated by floods in Delta State, the state Governor, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa, has released funds to the affected local government areas to cushion the effects of the ravaging floods, particularly to purchase food items for the affected communities. The Chairman, Delta State chapter of the Association of Local

Governments of Nigeria (ALGON), Hon Itiako Ikpokpo, disclosed this in a statement yesterday in Asaba. Ikpokpo said the undisclosed amount would go to the communities affected in 12 local government areas. The state ALGON chairman listed the affected local government areas as Oshimili South, Aniocha South, Ndokwa East, Isoko North, Isoko South, Patani, Bomadi, Burutu,

Ughelli North, Ughelli South, Warri South-West and Warri North. Already, the affected local government areas have started procurement of the food items, and will soon commence the distribution to the affected communities, he said, as he appealled to the flood victims to be patient as help was underway. Ikpokpo thanked governor on behalf of ALGON members in the

state “for the gracious release of funds to procure food items for flood victims in the state” and appealed for patients and cooperation. “I therefore appeal to our people to remain calm and be patient as the various councils carry out the task of procuring and distributing the food items to the affected communities.

Umahi Slashes School Fees of EbonyiVarsity

Yoruba Group Decries Buhari’s Stance on Restructuring

Benjamin Nworie in Abakaliki

A coalition of Yoruba organisations in the Diaspora, Yoruba One Voice, has expressed concerns over what it termed “retrogressive and insensitive” response of the President Muhammadu Buhari-led government to calls for restructuring and devolution of powers, warning that the Yoruba nation may be pushed to secede

Ebonyi State Governor has reduced the school fees of students of the Ebonyi State University to cushion the effects of COVID-19 pandemic. In a statement issued by the Secretary to Ebonyi State Government (SSG) and the Coordinating Commissioner, Dr. Kenneth Ugbala, the governor also directed that the remaining school fees should be aggregated and paid next year to the university’s account. According to the governor, the state government is aware of the effects of COVID-19 pandemic on the world economy of which Ebonyi State is highly affected. The governor noted that the directive was to lessen the burdens on parents, especially

in catering for the students of the state university, as well as encourage more students to go to the university. He said: “All non-indigenes of Ebonyi State University school fees are reduced by N10,000 per student, while school fees for all indigenes of the state in the Ebonyi State University are reduced by N20, 000 per student. “This amount will be aggregated and paid directly to the Ebonyi State University management in 2021. Last week, the state government released all monthly subventions owed to Ebonyi State University and additional N200, million salary intervention fund totaling N500 million was released to assist in staff salary payment of the Ebonyi State University.”

Sunday Okobi

from Nigeria any time soon. The coalition in a statement issued by its spokesperson, Zach Somorin, also appealed to members and organisations in the international community to urgently commence the framework for the review of the country’s structure for peaceful dissolution. YOV was reacting to a statement made by the Senior Special Assistant to the President

on Media and Publicity, Malam Garba Shehu, that Buhari would not succumb to threats and undue pressure over the subject of restructuring. According to YOV in the statement, the swiftness by which the presidency, through Shehu, jettisoned the nationwide demand for restructuring in Nigeria is retrogressive, callous, and uncouth. The Diaspora group stated

that despite the fact that the All Progressives Congress (APC) and President Buhari rode on the wings of promises to restructure Nigeria in 2015 to earn the votes of Nigerians, it stressed that the attitude and body language of the administration shows that he is averse to making the country’s system work seamlessly through restructuring.

Police Brutality: Family Demands N50m Compensation over Son’s Murder in Edo Adibe Emenyonu in Benin-city Family members of one Ibrahim Momodu in Benin-city, the Edo state capital, who was allegedly murdered by policemen in 2013, have petitioned the Chairman of the state Judicial Panel of Inquiry on the EndSARS protest, Hon

Justice Ada Ehigiamusoe (rtd). They are also demanding an urgent invitation, investigation and prosecution of one Mrs. Carol Afegbai, a Chief Superintendent of Police, and others at large over the alleged murder. The Momodu family in a petition through their lawyer,

Jefferson Uwoghiren, dated October 27, 2020, a copy of which was made available to journalists yesterday, urged the panel to invite Mrs. Afegbai and others now at large for alleged complicity and conspiracy to murder, obstruction of justice and conducts that are prejudicial

to public peace. They are also asking for N50million compensation for the loss of affection, emotional distress and grave injustice done to them by those they described as “agents of the government sworn to protect lives and property.”

Ë&#x153; ÍťË&#x153; ÍşÍ¸ÍşÍ¸ Ëž T H I S D AY

TUESDAYSPORTS

Group Sports Editor Duro Ikhazuagbe Email duro.ikhazuagbe@thisdaylive.com 0811 181 3083 SMS ONLY

AFCON 2022 QUALIFIER

Pinnick Predicts Sierra-Leone Will Fall in Benin City Adibe Emenyonuin Benin City Ahead of the November 13, Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifier between Super Eagles and Leone Stars scheduled to hold in Benin City, President of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Amaju Pinnick, has boasted the visitors from Sierra-Leone will fall in the double-header qualifiers. Pinnick who spoke shortly after inspecting facilities at the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium, venue of the match in company with Edo State Deputy Governor, Philip Shaibu, however, appealed to the Confederation of African Football (CAF) to allow the installed Video Assistant

Referee (VAR) facility to be used for the match. He described the facility as a tremendous Improvement from the last time he visited the stadium, adding that it is similar to what obtains in other parts of the world. â&#x20AC;&#x153;This is a tremendous improvement from the last time I came here. This is like what you see in other climes, so I am very impressed with what is on ground here. I commend the governor and his team, especially the deputy governor for ensuring that we have this world-class facility that we are proud of. â&#x20AC;&#x153;As for the visitors, we will quietly beat them home and away,â&#x20AC;? pledged the NFF chief. Pinnick hinted that an

Onuachu Invited as Late Replacement for Injured Simon Leading scorer in the Belgian Jupiler Pro League, Paul Onuachu, has again been handed a late call-up by the Super Eagles to replace injured FC Nantes winger Moses Simon. The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) announced the late invitation Monday after it was ascertained that Simon will not be fit in time for the AFCON qualifiers against Sierra Leone on November 13. The winger was forced out of last weekendâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Ligue 1 clash against champions PSG early in the first half after he suffered a groin injury.

Onuachu was also a late replacement for Napoli striker Victor Osimhen for last monthâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s friendlies against Algeria and Tunisia in Austria. This was after Osimhen could not travel out of Italy following an outbreak of Coronavirus at his Serie A club. However, Onuachu was only placed on standby for the AFCON qualifiers against Sierra Leone after his performances in the friendlies were widely criticised. The KRC Genk striker leads the goals chart in Belgium with nine goals from 10 league games.

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

Zidane Tasks Real Madrid to Play Inter Like Final Tonight Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane insisted yesterday that his players cannot afford any more slip-ups if they are to qualify for the UEFA Champions League knockout stages. He therefore tasked the players to be prepared for another physical battle at home to Inter Milan this evening. The Spanish champions prop up Group B with one point from two matches, having lost 3-2 to visitors Shakhtar Donetsk before snatching a 2-2 draw at Borussia Moenchengladbach last week. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Inter are a good team, very physical and play good football. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a final for us,â&#x20AC;? Zidane told a news conference on Monday. â&#x20AC;&#x153;There is always talk from the outside about what we have to change, but these guys are competitive. They want to win, and I can say this as a coach. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We always aspire to win everything that weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re involved in, we always want to show that weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re good and that we want more.â&#x20AC;? Madrid have struggled as an attacking force since

the trio of Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema -- who helped the club to their last four Champions League triumphs -- was disbanded, with only the France striker remaining. Having recovered from persistent injuries, Eden Hazard scored his first goal for Madrid in over a year in Saturdayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 4-1 home win over Huesca in La Liga. Zidane is confident the Belgium forward will continue to improve and form a lethal attacking partnership with Benzema and Marco Asensio in the coming years. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The players who are here always want to make history, they always want more and to prove themselves,â&#x20AC;? he said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;These three are important and Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m sure they can define an era in Madrid.â&#x20AC;? TODAY Lokomotiv v Atletico* Shakhtar v Bâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Mogladbach* Salzburg v Bâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Munich Râ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Madrid v Inter FC Porto v Marseille Man City v Olympiacos Atalanta v Liverpool Midtjylland v Ajax (All matches 9pm except * 6:55pm)

arrangement has been made for a chartered flight that will take Super Eagles to Sierra Leone for the reverse fixture four days later. Excited by the facilities at the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium, Pinnick promised to also bring the senior womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s team, the Super Falcons to also play in Benin City. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We are also going to bring in the Super Falcons, they are the most successful team in Africa because this is their home.â&#x20AC;? The NFF boss said because of Covid-19 and the need to observe the necessary Protocols, letters have been sent to the Federal Ministry of Youths and Sports, the Presidential Task Force on Covid-19 and CAF to allow fans and officials occupy half of the seating capacity of the stadium. On his part, Edo State Deputy Governor, Philip Shaibu said the Godwin Obaseki-led administration â&#x20AC;&#x153;is excited having an international football match as the first event to be played at the new Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium.â&#x20AC;? He noted that international standards was followed in rebuilding the stadium to world-class. Shaibu stated that the stateâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s COVID-19 Taskforce was already being engaged to be part of the game to ensure all regulations are observed before, during and after the match. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We are excited that we will be having an international football match here as the first event to hold at the brand new Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium and that was what it was intended to achieve. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We followed international standards when we were rebuilding the stadium and we were in touch with the NFF

to guide us with all the FIFA regulations so what you have here today is an international stadium. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Covid-19 taskforce

in Edo State is already being engaged to be part of this game to ensure that we observe all regulations and we will want the VAR

to be used so doubting Thomases will know that we are not jokingâ&#x20AC;?, the Edo deputy governor concluded

The newly refurbished Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium in Benin City. Inset: NFF President, Amaju Pinnick (right) and Edo State Deputy Governor, Philip Shaibu inspecting the facility ahead of the Nov.13 match...yesterday

Bayern Munich Withdraw Alabaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Contract Extension Offer Germanyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich have withdrawn their offer of a contract extension to Nigeria-born Austrian international David Alaba, according to the clubâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s President Herbert Hainer. Alaba, 28, is out of contract next summer and is set to leave the Bavarian on a free transfer. Clubs in England and Spain are interested in his services. The versatile defender has made almost 400 appearances for Bayern and won 17 major honours since making his debut at the Allianz Arena in 2010. Bayern had hoped Alaba would extend his stay after he helped the club to the treble last season â&#x20AC;&#x201C; but any hope of the versatile defender penning a new deal appears to be gone

as Hainer confirmed the offer is no longer on the table. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We presented him with a really, very good, very fair, competitive offer â&#x20AC;&#x201C; especially during these times,â&#x20AC;? the Bayern chief said, as per Bavarian outlet BR24 . â&#x20AC;&#x153;We told Davidâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s agent during the last meeting that we wanted clarity and an answer by the end of October because we want to plan for such an important position and player. But we havenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t heard anything until Saturday. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Our Sporting Director Hasan Salihamidzic then contacted the agent and the answer was that the offer is still unsatisfying and that we should think more. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We then decided to take the offer off the table completely.

That means there is no longer any offer.â&#x20AC;? The news will come as a boost to Alabaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s host of suitors, while further reports from Germany claim the player and his representatives were surprised by Bayernâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s decision to withdraw their offer. Sport1 reports the player is continuing to push for improved terms but notes â&#x20AC;&#x153;there are hardened fronts (between Alaba and Bayern) as never beforeâ&#x20AC;?. Alaba has continued to feature prominently for Bayern this season, making eight appearances across all competitions, but he was dropped to the bench for Saturdayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 2-1 victory at Koln. A natural left-back, Alaba has often been deployed in central defence by manager

Hansi Flick, while he can also play in midfield.

David Alaba...no Bayern Munich contract extension

11 Ajax Players Test Positive for Covid-19 Ajax Amsterdam could be without several key players after 11 squad members tested positive for Covid-19 ahead of tonightâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Champions League clash at Midtjylland, broadcaster RTL reported. Ajax travelled to Denmark on Monday with only 17 players, listed in the squad on their website. The club would not release the names of players with

the virus due to privacy rules. Skipper Dusan Tadic, goalkeeper Andre Onana and midfielders Davy Klaassen and Ryan Gravenberch were all expected to start the Group D match at Herning but were left out of the party. Reserve goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg has also been omitted, leaving one keeper, Kjell Scherpen, for the trip.

Dutch media said secondary tests were being conducted late yesterday for those affected in the hope that the results might turn out negative and more players would be able to travel to Denmark but they would need permission from UEFA to do so. Under the rules of Europeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s soccer governing body, Ajax must play the game if 13 or

more players on its A-list are available. Ajax are third in Champions League Group D with one point from two matches, five points adrift of leaders Liverpool and three behind Atalanta. Midtjylland are bottom having lost their first two games. The top two qualify for the knockout stage.

Tuesday November 3, 2020

UT H

& RE A S O

Price: N250

MISSILE PDP to FG “It is indeed grossly disconcerting that under our commander-in-chief, a general who had consistently promised to lead from the front, it took a foreign country to come on our soil to rescue their citizen” – The PDP saying that the US rescue mission in Nigeria conﬁrms that President Buhari cannot arrest the insecurity ravaging the country.

TUESDAY WITH REUBENABATI abati1990@gmail.com

#EndSARS: The Aftermath T

he #EndSARS protests which lasted for about two weeks until the crisis in Lagos on October 20, 2020, now known as the Black Tuesday in Nigeria’s contemporary history, may have abated, with the disappearance from Nigerian streets of the horde of protesters, looters, hijackers, and miscreants who together lent a new dimension to the protests. But essentially what we are now witnessing is best described as the “silence of the graveyard.” It is at best “a temporary reprieve”. The embers of the youth revolution that resulted in death, arson, wanton destruction and expansive alienation, are still smouldering. The extent to which this is true can be seen in (1) the renewed attempt in the Federal Capital Territory to loot a freshly discovered COVID-19 palliatives warehouse (2) the threat by some civil society groups that if the Federal Government does not address the demands of Nigerian youths about police brutality and good governance, nobody should rule out the possibility of another round of protests, and (3) the reported state of anomie in Oyigbo Local Government Area in Rivers State, where the people and the military are locked in a potentially explosive situation following the killing of six soldiers within the community by persons said to be militants of the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra Movement (IPOB) and the imposition of a 24-hour curfew on the community by the Rivers State Government. A “revolution” is like the spoken word – a word is like a seed, it germinates and in actuality, its embodied meanings could take on a utilitarian and practical edge. Kinjekitile in Ebrahim Hussein’s play of the same title, on the 1905-7 Maji Maji War against German colonial rule in Tangayika (modern day Tanzania), makes the point about the potency of the word: a word once spoken may be difficult to recall or control. Kinjekitile, the seer, energized the people with a word of hope about their own invincibility but even if he did not command the next line of action, the people were driven by their own emotions and enthusiasm. The #EndSARS protest was a spoken word which assumed a life of its own. The protesters in Kinjekitile thought water as directed by the spirit, Hongo, will protect them against German bullets. The protesters at Lekki Toll Gate and other parts of Nigeria believed that the Nigerian flag and the singing of the national anthem would offer them immunity from the same state brutality that they were revolting against. Many ended up as casualties. The state and the innocent have also suffered. The culture of hate that has been promoted thereby, the Nigerian fault lines that have now been further widened, and the gulf of alienation between the people and their leaders that has been further stretched - point to one fact: the need to save Nigeria from an avoidable blow-out between the people and the state that could prove costly. This will require a sober and detached reflection over the meaning and implications of the #EndSARS protests in terms of lessons, gains, loopholes and possible options. One major lesson is about people power. Both #EndSARS protests in the South and the #Endinsecuritynow protests in the North were about the power of the people to insist on their own truths, hold their leaders accountable and ask questions. We often talk about the coercive powers of state, and how the control of such powers places Nigerian leaders in a superior position over and above the people. In the face of the people’s anger, the vulnerability of those powers was exposed and the true location of power in a state, nation and country was revealed. Power rests with the people. The youths of Nigeria coalesced around a word: #EndSARS - that word soon became a signifying coda, adopted and translated into different strands by even those who did not understand what it represented other than an opportunity

Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Adamu for rebellion against perceived enemies - from the police, to political leaders, to the rich and affluent, business owners and the ordinary man or woman riding a flashy car. What began as a protest by young men and women in the privileged quarters of Lekki, Ikoyi, Ajah, Banana Island, Victoria Island, later joined by celebrities and social media influencers taking photographs, making speeches and eventually, playing music, eating Shawarma, Pizza, delicious rice and puff puff, soon degenerated into chaos. Even before Black Tuesday, the protests had spread across the streets of Lagos, from Lekki toll gate to Agege, Iyana Oworo, Ikorodu, Iyana Ipaja, Oshodi, Fagba, Mushin, Alakuko…The youths in these parts and their cousins in Benin City, Osogbo, Federal Capital Territory, Onitsha, Oyigbo brought a new dimension to the protests. In Benin they attacked two prisons. In Ilesa, they went after the Soun of Ogbomoso’s palace. In Abuja, Lagos and elsewhere, they pulled down traffic lights and public infrastructure. These other protesters have been dismissed as miscreants and hoodlums, but no one has been able to deny that they are Nigerian youths. The sad news is that they are in the majority. With #EndSARS, Nigeria began to pay the price for its failure to provide for the future of its youths, to train its young persons and to empower them beyond slogans and rhetoric. The big lesson lies in the solidarity that we saw between the educated puff-puff and pizza eating

crowd at Lekki Toll gate that spoke fine English and sang the National Anthem and carried placards and the stick-wielding, “we-die-here” youths that went after public infrastructure and anything that looked rich. They were both united by one word #EndSARS which had become a catch phrase for youth frustration. Nigeria is a divided country across all lines: ethnic, demographic, religious, and geographic with tension and entropy sewn into the national fabric. Nigerian youths constitute more than 60% of the country’s population but they are the most neglected, and of course the most divided: North and South, rich and poor. The children of the rich live in privileged places. They go to the best schools abroad. They acquire vertical education, and the kind of exposure that money can offer. But when they return to the country, they don’t get jobs. They have no hope of self-actualization because the country itself is bleeding. And so they are angry and disillusioned. On the other side are the children of the poor: the products of Nigeria’s warped system. This other group has not enjoyed the opportunity to go to school. A few may have had the opportunity, but these are mostly school drop outs whose little education is of no use. The only toy that they have ever played with in their lives is a wrap of marijuana, a shot of cocaine, tramadol, a gun and a bullet. They speak the language of the streets. We saw them at work during the #EndSARS protests. In the South, they took over the protests. In the North, they became hired agents of their oppressors and attacked the protesters. Lesson: a country that fails to invest in the future of its youths is bound to count the cost in the shape of anarchy. Nigerian youths – whatever label we give them – protesters or miscreants have spoken up. They have shown that they have a voice that must be heard. When some funny lawmakers in the Lagos State House of Assembly – Mudasiru Obasa, Mojisola Alli-Macaulay and Desmond Elliot tried to reconstruct the nature of the #EndSARS protests, the same youths dragged them like dirt on environmental sanitation day! Those lawmakers must have now learnt that it is better to think before uttering a word! Our youths need jobs. They need to be taken seriously. The challenge of poverty and hunger also needs to be addressed if Nigeria must have peace. Political leaders and government officials must also learn to be accountable. As it

happened, the protests moved beyond a revolt against police brutality, to an attack on warehouses where COVID-19 palliatives had been hoarded, organized attacks on the homes and properties of politicians, even innocent entrepreneurs. It was shocking to be confronted with the ugly truth that Nigerian politicians had converted COVID-19 palliatives for personal use to be distributed as birthday souvenirs. One of such persons even had the effrontery to confess that he was saving the materials for his birthday anniversary. He wasn’t intelligent enough to figure out his own folly. The angry youths that attacked COVID-19 palliatives warehouses across the entire country were not alone. They were joined by ordinary people, pregnant women, and the army of poor Nigerian masses. What has been labelled as looting and criminality is subliminally an expression of the people’s frustration with government. Why hoard palliatives when the people are in need? To further show the rise of the lunatic fringe in high places, there has been a report that COVID-19 palliatives provided by the private sector coalition, known as CA-COVID are now actually on sale in some stores, locally and in London! Nigerian policemen and women suffered a lot: 22 policemen were killed, 205 police formations and stations were set ablaze, operational vehicles were destroyed. We sympathize with the Nigeria Police… and all the families who lost their loved ones in the course of the protests. Nobody deserves to die in such manner. There will be need for healing and reconciliation at all levels. However, in an attempt to rebuild trust and confidence among his men, the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mohammed Adamu has been quoted as saying that policemen have a right to defend themselves and that any policeman that is assaulted by anybody has a right to fight back. The IGP should talk more about peace building strategies rather than the politics of vengeance and confrontation. There is a Federal Government Committee in place to work out the processes for giving effect to the 5-for-5 demands. The Committee should conduct its work with the speed of light. States of the Federation have agreed to set up panels of Inquiry; about 13 states have done so, the others should hurry up. Nigerians need to know the truth and they need to know that justice will be done. The Nigerian Military stands accused. Its leaders must stop talking as if the military is above the laws of the land. Thy must learn to be humble and accountable.

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala: Best Woman for the WTO Job

he emergence of Dr. Ngozi OkonjoIweala as the consensus candidate for the position of the Director General of the World Trade Organization (WTO) has been held up by the last minute objection of the United States. The consultations process by the “Troika” saddled with the responsibility of selecting a consensus candidate in line with the Procedures for the Appointment of WTO DG (10 December 2002), followed due process and after 500 meetings and consultations, over a period of 4 months, 104 countries chose Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, 60 other members chose Ms Yoo Myung-Hee, the candidate of South Korea who along with Nigeria’s Okonjo-Iweala had made the final shortlist of 2 as of October 8. Further consultations gave Okonjo-Iweala 163 votes. South Korea did not withdraw the candidacy of Ms Yoo, but it also did not oppose the Nigerian candidate. Under Articles 15-19 of its procedures, WTO chooses its DG by consensus. The General Council has now decided that a final decision will be taken on December 9, after a week of further negotiations with the United States. If that fails,

the body will have no option but to activate Article 20 which talks about “recourse to voting as a last resort.” This gives us confidence and hope. Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has the critical support of her country, Nigeria, and all categories: developed, developing and other members of the WTO, across all representative continents. The US Trade Representative says “due process” has not been followed. That is not true. The attempt by the United States to tell a lie to give others a bad name is what has now united other members of the WTO Council against the United States. The US also says the WTO needs someone with “real, hands-on experience in the field.” Everyone else is convinced that Dr. Okonjo-Iweala is eminently qualified. Look at her credentials. First Class. Outstanding. Great personality. The United States is playing gutter politics. This is about the US Presidential Election 2020, and the trade conflict with China. Before now, President Trump described the WTO as “horrible” and too partial to China. He wants to be seen on the eve of one of America’s most divisive elections (cf. 1800, 1824, 1860, 1960, 1968 and

2000) as a strong nationalist who puts America first. There is also a ring of déjà vu to this. In 2012, the United States thought Okonjo-Iweala was too bold to seek the position of President of the World Bank despite the unwritten rule that the office is reserved only for Americans. The US prefers South Korea’s Ms Yoo because they think she would be more pliable. They also don’t want China to fill the slot of Deputy Director General. Okonjo-Iweala is also accused of being a globalist. Under President Trump, the US has played the politics of isolationism, unilateralism and a recourse to bilateralism on his own terms. I also think there is a racist sub-text to this: Trump has opposed every multilateral institution led by Africans: WHO and the AfDB are most recent examples. Will the US have its way? I don’t think so. If Trump loses the US Presidential election today, as he should, that will change the game. If he wins, the WTO, in any case, operates on a “one country one vote” basis. A recourse to “voting as a last resort”, an exceptional departure from customary practice, should get Nigeria’s candidate the job, which she certainly deserves.

Printed and Published in Lagos by THISDAY Newspapers Limited. Lagos: 35 Creek Road, Apapa, Lagos. Abuja: Plot 1, Sector Centre B, Jabi Business District, Solomon Lar Way, Jabi North East, Abuja . All Correspondence to POBox 54749, Ikoyi, Lagos. EMAIL: editor@thisdaylive.com, info@thisdaylive.com. TELEPHONE Lagos: 0802 2924721-2, 08022924485. Abuja: Tel: 08155555292, 08155555929 24/7 ADVERTISING HOT LINES: 0811 181 3085, 0811 181 3086, 0811 181 3087, 0811 181 3088, 0811 181 3089, 0811 181 3090. ENQUIRIES & BOOKING: adsbooking@thisdaylive.com