TUESDAY 9TH NOVEMBER 2021

All Eyes on Ihiala as INEC Concludes Anambra Governorship Election Adjusts voting timeline for supplementary poll APC alleges rigging, to contest result in Supreme Court State govt assures Ihiala people of security as billionaire sons, daughters mobilise indigenes in diaspora CLEEN Foundation seeks improvement in BVAS technology Chuks Okocha in Abuja and DavidChyddy Eleke in Awka With the supplementary poll in

the Anambra State governorship election holding today in Ihiala Local Government Area, attention has shifted to the council area, just

as interests have heightened among the various stakeholders.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has, in line

with extant rules and regulations, announced a slight adjustment to the commencement and closing time for the supplementary election. INEC

said polling would now commence at 10am and end at 4pm.

The commission had on Sunday declared the November 6 off-time

governorship election in Anambra State inconclusive owing to the Continued on page 10

ECOWAS Sustains Measures against Guinea, Sanctions Mali... Page 8 Tuesday 9 November, 2021 Vol 26. No 9710. Price: N250

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CBN Caps Loan at N5bn in New ‘100 for 100’ Policy James Emejo in Abuja

BUILDING PARTNERSHIPS TO FIGHT FINANCIAL CRIMES...

L-R: Chief of Staff to COAS, Brig. Gen AM Umar; Chairman, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Abdulrasheed Bawa; Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt. Gen Faruk Yahaya, and Head of Operations, EFCC Headquarters, Michael Wetkas, during the commission's Chairman's visit to the COAS... yesterday

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has set a maximum threshold of N5 billion to be accessed by an obligor under its new financial instrument, tagged, 100 for 100 Policy on Production and Productivity (100 for 100 PPP) Continued on page 5

Paris Club Refund: Malami’s Action against Public Morality, Interest, Say Govs Allege special relationship exists between AGF, consultants above Nigeria’s interest Say payment authorised, processed with unprecedented speed not common in public service Chuks Okocha in Abuja The 36 State Governors under the umbrella of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) have strongly chastised the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), Abubakar Malami over his directive to pay the Paris Club Consultants, even when the matter was still in the Court of Appeal.

The governors stated this in reaction to the directive by the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation in a statement yesterday, by the Head, Media and Public Affairs, NGF, Abdulrazaque Bello-Barkindo, insisting that the mere fact that Malami directed the Minister of Finance to pay was very Continued on page 10

FINDING NEW WAYS TO CARE...

Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu exchanging greetings with Chairman, Institute for Global Research and former British Prime Minister, Mr. Tony Blair at the second edition of the European Corporate Council on Africa and Middle East (ECAM) summit with the theme ‘Finding New Ways to Care’, in Rome, Italy... recently.

Money Laundering: Ex-Pension Task Team Boss, Maina Gets Eight Years Jail Term... Page 16

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

MAN MARKS 50TH ANNIVERSARY...

L-R: Director-General, Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), Mr Segun Ajayi-Kadir; President, MAN, Engr Mansur Ahmed; Director, External Affairs, British American Tobacco (BAT) West and Central Africa, Odiri Erewa-Meggison; and former chairman, Board of Directors, PZ Cussons, Chief Kola Jamodu, during the MAN's 50th anniversary celebration held at the International Conference Centre, Abuja...recently

NCC Reassures Nigerians on Safety of 5G Spectrum Commission targets N632.39bn revenue in 2022

Emameh Gabriel in Abuja

As Nigerians await the full operation of the new generation network, 5G, the Executive Vice Chairman of the National Communication Commission (NCC), Prof. Umar Danbatta has assured Nigerians of the safety of their health.

This is just as the Commission proposed to generate N632.39 billion in 2022, from the sale of 5G spectrum to players in the telecom sector, among other revenue sources.

Danbatta who gave the assurance yesterday, when he appeared before the National Assembly joint committee on Communications to defend his commission's 2022 budget proposal, said the commission's response was sequel to the fear being expressed by Nigerians

over the deployment of the new technology.

According to him, "The revenue would be realised through the sales of 5G spectrum, fines among others.

"Concerning the fears about the 5G spectrum, we share the same concern because it is justified and we have been sensitising Nigerians about the safety of the new technology. The 5G network we are going to launch has no harm."

"Up till date, there is no credible evidence about the health hazard of the 5G technology, therefore it is safe."

He emphasised the economic importance of the 5G Spectrum network to the country and the nation's social transformation.

He said: "There is no medical evidence from the World Health

Organisations indicating any harmful effect of the spectrum on the health of the end users.

"NCC has enjoined at Nigerians at the national level to disabuse their minds on the purported harmful effect of the spectrum and we will continue to sensitise them on spectrum until everybody embraces the use of the G5 network."

Danbatta also disclosed that with the launch of Computer Incidence Response Team, and telecommunications networks across the country were secured against any form of cyber-attack.

"Recently not up to a month ago, the commission unveiled its computer incidence responsive which is a certified round protection for cyber-attacks against telecommunication network.

"I am very proud to bring this information to the knowledge of the general public that all over the country our computers are secured from cyber-attacks.

"This effort is going to be intensified in order to ensure the safety of our computers," he noted.

For the commission's main budget, he said a sum of N86.2 billion was proposed for recurrent expenditure; N29.36 billion for capital while N2.55 billion was earmarked for Special Projects.

Danbatta, while defending his agency's budget before the Senate MTEF/FSP panel in September, had said, the agency could generate up to N400 billion from the spectrum auction next year.

Danbatta said his agency projected a budget of N162 billion

Analysts: Fresh PSB Approvals to Deepen Banks, Telcos’ Competition Kayode Tokede The approval-in-principle granted to MTN Nigeria and Airtel Africa by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to operate Payment Service Banks (PSBs) is expected to heighten competition between the banks and the telecommunication companies.

With the two approvals by the CBN, there are presently a total of five firms operating as PSBs in the country. The central bank had in 2019 granted approvals to Hope PSB, Money Master PSB and 9PSB. The PSBs are to operate mostly in the rural areas and unbanked locations, targeting financially excluded persons, with not less than 25 per cent financial service touch points in such rural areas as defined by the CBN from time to time, the guidelines said. Their introduction was in furtherance of the central bank’s mandate of promoting a sound financial system and enhancing access to financial services for low income earners and unbanked segments of the society.

According to analysts, the entrance of MTN Nigeria and Airtel Africa into the financial services space would heighten competition especially. They, however, noted that competition was necessary to drive financial inclusion through the provision of diverse and convenient financial services to the unbanked population.

Speaking with THISDAY, the

Chief Executive Officer, Financial Derivatives Company Limited, Mr. Bismarck Rewane, noted that the approval-in-principal approval by CBN to both telcos was meant to create competition and boost the nation’s economy.

According to him: “In mobile money countries like Kenya, Ghana, among others, banks are making money and mobile money operators are also making money- it is better for everyone because it brings greater financial inclusion.

“It a complete misinterpretation of facts that it will affect banks fees and commission. Banks in Ghana are making profits and it has not reduced their profit.

“The mobile payment system in Ghana has become more efficient and actually boosts economy growth. It is a great thing CBN granted MTN Nigeria and Airtel Africa principal licence.

“The approval will help the mobile money platform and it will help impact positive on the nation’s economy.

“The approval means customers will look for most convenient and efficient way of making transfers.

The license is in everybody’s interest and I’m surprise it took so long. Three telecos operators were granted and they had no impact.

“Now, there will greater competition, efficiency and it will bring down cost of payment settlement going forward.”

Also, the President, Association of Telecommunication Companies of Nigeria (ATCON), Mr. Ikechukwu Nnamani, said the approval by the CBN was long overdue, stressing that financial inclusion efforts in Nigeria had been slow.

According to him, for many years, the CBN had insisted in making financial inclusion activities to be bank-led instead of teleco-led.

He explained further: “Given the subscriber base of the country, it is expected that if financial inclusion activities is telcos-led, then we will see far more adoption of financial services across the country.

“We have seen examples in other countries that support this assumption. So, I am very happy we finally got to this point. I believe it will enhance the delivery of financial services across the country “In all parts of the world where telcos lead financial inclusion services have been allowed to thrive it has not had any negative impact on the traditional banking system, instead, it has helped enhance it.

“Remember the underlying word here is financial inclusion.

The major beneficiary of these services will be people not already embracing the traditional banking services. So, I don't see how this will negatively impact the traditional banks. I see it as a win-win for all parties including the banks.”

Commenting also on the development, the President, Bank Customers Association of Nigeria (BCAN), Dr. Uju Ogubunka, said

the principal approval granted to MTN Nigeria and Airtel Africa was expected to impact on financial inclusion stakeholders have been talking about over the years.

According to him: “So many people were excluded from the financial inclusion and with mobile companies involved in payment services, it will expand the scope and increase number of people in the financial affairs of the country.”

He said the mobile money payment sector was going to witness competition as well.

“I think telecommunication companies are going to compete with banks and it may drive down cost and bring about efficiency in the sector. Once we have serious competition, we may have cut reduction and customers will be looking for better price settlement.”

Also speaking with THISDAY, Prof. Hassan Oaikhenan of the Department of Economics, University of Benin, applauded the granting of PSB approvals to MTN Nigeria and Airtel.

He noted that the approval was expected to expand financial inclusion.

The Chief Executive Officer, Airtel Africa, Segun Ogunsanya in a statement had said: "I am very pleased that Smartcash has been granted an approval in principle to operate a service bank business in Nigeria. We will now work closely with the Central Bank to meet all its conditions to receive the operating licence and commence operations.”

for 2021, adding that, in the first quarter of 2021, "we have exceeded that amount because we were able to generate N181 billion."

"This is because two of our mobile network operators, the MTN and Airtel, requested for spectrum and that really gave us a lot of revenue," he added.

The NCC boss had said: "Each

slot of the 5G spectrum is going for an exact price of N75bn. However, in an auction, it can go as high as N100 billion.

"The exact price for the Spectrum auction, in 2022 will give the federal government N300 billion. When the projected revenue is added to it, we are expecting well over N400 billion because it is an auction."

CBN CAPS LOAN AT N5BN IN NEW ‘100 FOR 100’ POLICY which was introduced recently.

The bank added that any amount above the limit shall require the special approval of CBN’s management.

According to the guidelines for the implementation of the policy which was signed by the CBN Director, Development Finance Department, Mr. Yila Yusuf and posted on the bank's website, interest rate under the intervention shall be at not more than five per cent per annum (p.a) all inclusive, up to February 28, 2022, after which interest on the facility shall revert to nine per cent effective from March 1, 2022.

CBN Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, last month unveiled the new financial instrument to boost support for selected private sector companies in the country.

According to him, the policy seeks to advertise, screen, scrutinise and financially support 100 targeted private sector companies in 100 days, beginning from November 1, 2021, and rolling over every 100 days with new set of 100 companies.

Essentially, the framework seeks to stimulate the flow of credit to the real sector of the economy in order to reverse the nation’s over-reliance on import.

The central bank explained that the initiative shall be operated in the first instance for a period not exceeding December 31, 2031, depending on the complexity of the project.

The apex bank said the initiative shall be funded from the CBN’s Real Sector Support Facility – Differentiated Cash Reserve Requirement (RSSF-DCRR) window or any other funding window as may be determined by the CBN. It added that the initiative shall be implemented in line with the provisions of the guidelines for the implementation of the underlying intervention (RSSF¬DCRR) including the sanction regime.

The bank pointed out that the 100

for 100 PPP was also designed to stimulate investments in Nigeria’s manufacturing sector with the core objective of boosting production and productivity, necessary to transform and catalyse the productive base of the economy.

The overarching goal of the initiative is to reverse the nation’s over reliance on import, the central bank added.

It stated that initiative represented was a financial instrument designed to create the flow of finance and investments to enterprises with potential to catalyse sustainable economic growth trajectory, accelerate structural transformation, promote diversification, and improve productivity.

The guideline added: "Quarterly, starting from 1st November 2021, the initiative shall select 100 private sector companies with projects that have potential to significantly increase domestic production and productivity, reduce imports, increase non-oil exports, and overall improvements in the foreign exchange generating capacity of the Nigerian economy.

"The initiative, which shall be bank-led, will be rolled over every 100 days (that is, quarterly) with new set of companies selected for financing under the initiative.

"The initiative shall be implemented in collaboration with relevant stakeholders with focus on micro and macroeconomic impacts, in terms of contribution to GDP and exports, sustainable jobs created, local content development, production output, and capacity utilisation and integration into the global value chain."

The guidelines outlined the operational modalities for the instrument.

The broad objective of the initiative is to reverse the nation’s over-reliance on imports, by creating an ecosystem that targets and supports the right projects with potential to transform and catalyse the productive base of the economy.

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DISCUSSING 2022 BUDGET...

L-R: Ogun State Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun; his Chief Economic Adviser/Commissioner for Finance, Dapo Okubadejo and Commissioner for Budget and Planning, Olaolu Olabimtan, during the Treasury Board Meeting on 2022 Budget, held at Governor's Office at Abeokuta... yesterday

Don’t Create Artificial Fuel Scarcity, NNPC Cautions Nigerians Kyari: How corporation cut high production costs Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has once cautioned members of the public against engaging in panic buying of petrol, stressing that the national oil company has over 1.7 billion litres of the product in stock.

A statement by the NNPC Spokesman, Mr. Garba Muhammad, yesterday reiterated that the corporation was also not aware of any plan by government to cause an increase in the pump price of petroleum.

In addition, the NNPC stated that more product was expected to arrive in the country daily over the coming weeks and months, insisting that it was therefore unnecessary to entertain any fear of scarcity of petrol throughout the festive season and beyond.

“The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) had made that declaration last week.

“In view of these assurances therefore, the NNPC is advising motorists and other consumers of petrol to maintain their regular

pattern of the purchase of petrol without getting into a panic situation that may send the wrong signals around the country,” it stated.

The NNPC said it was engaging all stakeholders to ensure smooth supply and distribution of products to every part of the country during the festive season and beyond.

Meanwhile, the Group Managing Director of the NNPC, Mallam Mele Kyari has said in the last two years, the organisation has automated its processes and systems.

Speaking when he received the 2020 Zik Prize for Public Service Leadership in Lagos, Kyari explained that this has reduced the cost of operations and enabled NNPC focus on delivering value to Nigerians, in line with its management vision of Transparency, Accountability & Performance Excellence (TAPE).

He added that the enactment of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) had placed huge responsibility on the NNPC to do things differently and be much more accountable to its shareholders, the over 200

million Nigerians.

Kyari said the Zik leadership award would spur him and his management team to work harder towards becoming an “international national oil company,” that is at par with its global peers.

The Public Policy Research & Analysis Centre (PPRAC), which organised the event, stated that Kyari was deserving of the award for turning the NNPC from a loss-making organisation into a profit- making venture.

Speaking on behalf of the Centre, Chief Mac Wabara said this was made possible by the various

reforms Kyari instituted at the corporation through transparency and accountability.

“Kyari continues to seamlessly transform the operations of NNPC, including deepening domestic gas utilisation, rehabilitation of the nation’s refineries and public disclosure of NNPC accounts, the first in NNPC’s 44 years of existence,” Wabara noted.

“Under Kyari’s watch at the NNPC, the company declared a profit after tax of N287 billion in 2020 after losses were reduced from N803 billion in 2018 to N1.7 billion in 2019. This is unprecedented

An Abuja based public servant, Mrs. Stella Oga, at the Federal High Court, Abuja, yesterday, narrated how her brother, Mr. Paul Ozigbu, forged landed property documents of their late father, Nze Ike Ozigbu, to take over ownership of family properties and company.

Oga gave the explanation while leading evidence as first Prosecution Witness (PW1) of the Nigeria Police Force.

Ozigbu is being prosecuted by the Police over allegation of forgery, criminal conspiracy and illegal conversion of family properties into personal use amongst others.

He was re-arraigned before Justice Okorowo of the Federal High Court, Abuja on July 7.

At the resumed trial, the witness, while being led in evidence

by J. Nwadike, told the court that after the death and burial of their father in 2010, the children

met and decided that after the mourning period, they would share the assets of their parents.

"Before our father died, he had handed all landed property documents, certificate of occupancy, etc to our last brother, Uche Ozigbu.

"We all agreed to give our elder brother, Paul all the documents and that when everything is shared, we will now give individuals their own title papers.

"Uche and I went and gave him the landed property documents, but all efforts to get him to handover the said documents became an issue" the witness testified.

She stated that in the cause of trying to know the status of the properties and their father's company, "we found out that Paul (the defendant) has sold out a huge number out of 67 hectres of our mother's palm plantation.

"We tried to find out about

State Governor, Abdullahi Sule; former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Chief Pius Anyim; Minister of State for Health, Senator Olorunimbe Mamora; Director-General of the Nigerian Maritime and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dr. Bashir Jamo as well as Managing Director of the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA), Mr. Uche Orji.

Established in 1994 by the PPRAC and now in its 26th edition, the Zik Prize in Leadership is aimed at highlighting Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe’s legacy of patriotic fervour and nationalist vision

Komolafe Seeks Military’s Support to Curb Oil Theft Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja The Chief Executive Officer, Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) Mr. Gbenga Komolafe, yesterday solicited the support of Nigeria’s armed forces to tackle the menace of crude oil theft in the country.

Komolafe made the request when he paid a courtesy visit

to the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) Gen. Lucky Irabor, in his office in Abuja, as part of his strategic engagements with critical stakeholders, a statement by a senior official of the organisation, Mr. Paul Osu, revealed.

The latest report from the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) recently stated that Nigeria lost

Woman Tells Court How Brother Forged CAC Documents, Power Of Attorney in Alleged N10bn Fraud Alex Enumah in Abuja

in the history of the NNPC,” he added.

He further explained that Kyari also consistently played a huge role in the enactment of the PIA, stressing that with the coming of the legislation, the NNPC is now well-positioned to operate efficiently, like its global peers.

According to Muhammad, at the event were the Emir of Kano, Aminu Ado Bayero; Emir of Lafia, Justice Sidi Bage (rtd) and Kebbi State Governor, Abubakar Bagudu.

Other recipients of the award included: the Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu; Nasarawa

our father's company, Ozigbu Engineering Company, established in 1972, only to notice at the CAC, that the company now belongs to Paul, his wife and son.

"The defendant had changed the Directors including the Secretary. Paul made his wife secretary in 2014 and son, a director, whereas our father died in 2010.

"Paul came with a power of attorney which he said was given to him by our father, wherein he claimed that their father gave him all the property.

"As at the date of our family meeting, he never mentioned the power of attorney" the witness stated.

"As at today, you cannot find a pin in OEC. Paul sold everything.

He sold a warehouse, whole steel structure, whole aluminium roofing sheets and sidings etc.

"When we discovered all these things, we found out that he had forged signatures of directors of OEC.

"We reached out to the Nigerian Police to verify the documents he was parading, which we suspected.

"The police wrote to CAC and they sent them the documents they had. They used their experts to verify them and all the documents failed and the power of attorney he was paradiing was not genuine,” Oga told the court.

The Police had last year in a suit marked FHC/ABJ/ CR/239/2020, alleged that Paul Ozigbu forged Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) documents, and Power of Attorney of his late father, Nze Hilary Ozigbu and obtained family property by falsehood.

He was also accused alongside Ngozi Ozigbu and David Ozigbu, now at large to have at different times fraudulently obtained various sums of money amounting to N10.40bn.

The matter however was adjourned till December 8 for continuation of trial.

42.25 million barrels of crude oil valued at $2.77 billion to oil theft in 2019. The report, however, noted that the loss was 11.03 million barrels (21 per cent) lower than that recorded in 2018, which was 53.28 million barrels. It stated that the losses were incurred by companies that conveyed crude volumes through pipelines that were easily compromised by saboteurs.

Speaking during yesterday’s visit, Komolafe told the CDS that the new NUPRC was now responsible for the technical, operational and commercial regulation of the upstream sector, geared towards optimising the benefits of the nation’s hydrocarbon resources.

He reiterated the critical role of the defence chief to the success of upstream investments in the oil and gas industry in Nigeria and appealed for stakeholders’ collaboration and partnership to deal with all security issues affecting the industry.

In his response, Irabor assured Komolafe of the support of the armed forces in the fight against oil thieves, noting that collaboration was of utmost importance to curb the menace.

While expressing concern over the menace, Irabor assured that the armed forces were, “on top of the situation” saying current operational strategies were targeted at eliminating the incidences of such occurrences. He lauded the commission’s chief executive for the engagement strategy, adding that the interaction was significant.

Irabor further requested for detailed proposals that would ensure proper collaboration with

all stakeholders, going forward.

In October, the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mallam Mele Kyari, had raised the alarm that a few Nigerians, he described as the elite, steal as much as 42.25 million barrels of the nation’s crude oil annually. Speaking at a forum organised by the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE) in Abuja, he had blamed some unpatriotic Nigerians for the continuous fuel importation and the bad state of the nation’s refineries.

However, he had said the corporation was taking a turn for the better since President Muhammadu Buhari made a decision not to interfere with the workings of the organisation.

“Today, as we all know, Nigeria has an energy deficit. We import all our petroleum products. In the past several years, every attempt to salvage our refineries has ended up in one misfortune or another.

“While oil price is heading high and should have been a bumper harvest for the Nigerian ailing and hydrocarbon-dependent economy, importation of the finished product erodes necessary gains through use of foreign exchange earning and payment of subsidy, which has risen to over N1 trillion in less than eight months that the scheme was introduced through the back door.

“Who steals crude oil? It is not the ordinary man in the village. It’s the elite of society, and it needs all of us to fight them. When we fight them, it is for survival of all of us,” he had argued.

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HERE ARE MY LETTERS OF CREDENCE...

Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to the Kingdom of Thailand, Ambassador Oma Djebah (left), presenting his Letters of Credence to His Majesty King of Thailand, King Maha Vajiralongkorn Phra Vajirakaochaoyuhua, at the Dusit Palace...in Bangkok, Thailand... recently

ECOWAS Sustains Measures against Guinea, Sanctions Mali Seeks UN, AU, others’ support in action against both countries Deji Elumoye in Abuja The Heads of States and Governments of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) have sustained measures earlier imposed on the Republic of Guinea, including its suspension from the regional body.

The regional body also slammed similar sanctions on the Transitional Government in the Republic of Mali.

These were part of the decisions taken at the third Extraordinary Summit of the ECOWAS Authority

of Heads of State and Government, held in the Ghanaian capital, Accra, and chaired by the President of Ghana, NAna Akufo-Addo.

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo had represented President Muhammadu Buhari at the summit, which was convened to discuss developments on the situations in Guinea and Mali, where cases of illegal military takeover of government recently occurred.

According to a statement by the Media Assistant to the Vice President, Mr Laolu Akande yesterday, the regional heads called

on other international bodies to support the implementation of the sanctions.

The communique, issued at the end of the summit, stated that, "the Authority decides to uphold the suspension of the Republic of Guinea from all ECOWAS governing bodies as well as the travel ban and freeze on financial assets imposed on the members of the CNRD and their family members until constitutional order is restored," in the country.

On Mali, the ECOWAS leaders also resolved that in, "conformity

with the decision taken on 16th September 2021, the Authority decides to impose sanctions with immediate effect against individuals and groups who have been identified, including the entire transition authorities and the other transition institutions.

"These sanctions will also be imposed on the members of their families. The sanctions include a travel ban and a freeze on their financial assets. It further instructs the President of the Commission to consider and propose additional sanctions at its next Ordinary

WHO Approves New COVID-19 Vaccine Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja The World Health Organisation’s (WHO) Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunisation (SAGE) has issued interim policy recommendations for the use of the Bharat Biotech BBV152 COVAXIN vaccine.

The new vaccine type is said to be very potent against new variants of SARS-CoV-2 virus.

In the approval which was conveyed in its report issued on November 3, the Technical Advisory Group for Emergency Use Listing, listed the Bharat Biotech BBV152 COVAXIN vaccine against COVID-19 for emergency use.

WHO said the new BBV152 COVID-19 vaccine was recommended for use for breastfeeding and non-breastfeeding women.

It, however, stated that data was not available on the potential benefits or possible risks of the BBV152 vaccine to breastfed children.

"However, as BBV152 vaccine is not a live virus vaccine, it is biologically and clinically unlikely to pose a risk to the breastfeeding child. WHO does not recommend discontinuing breastfeeding because of the vaccination.

"Persons living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) or who are immune compromised are at higher risk of severe COVID-19 disease. There are not enough data at present to allow assessment of the efficacy or safety of this vaccine for people living with HIV. It is possible that the immune response to the vaccine may be

reduced, which could lower its clinical effectiveness," it stated.

WHO explained that in the interim, given that the vaccine was non-replicating, people living with HIV that are stable may be vaccinated with the standard primary series of 2 doses.

It recommended that individuals with a history of anaphylaxis to any component of the vaccine should not take the vaccine.

According to the WHO, persons with acute PCR-confirmed COVID-19 should not be vaccinated until after they have recovered from acute illness and the criteria for ending isolation have been met.

Also anyone with a body temperature over 38.5°C should postpone vaccination until they no longer have a fever, it stated.

On the recommended dosage for the vaccine, the WHO stated the use of BBV152 vaccine as 2 doses (0.5 ml) should be given intramuscularly.

"The vaccine can be administered with an interval of 4 weeks. It is recommended that all vaccinated individuals receive two doses.

"If the second dose is inadvertently administered less than four weeks after the first, the dose does not need to be repeated. If administration of the second dose is delayed beyond four weeks, it should be given at the earliest possible opportunity,” the global health body added.

It noted that it has thoroughly assessed the data on safety and efficacy of the vaccine and recommended its use for people aged 18 and above.

"The WHO EUL process also evaluates the quality of manufacturing along with safety and efficacy.

"Safety data is currently limited for persons above 60 years of age (due to the small number of participants of this age group in clinical trials).

“However, the trial data indicate that the vaccine has an acceptable safety profile for this age group and WHO recommends the vaccine for use in persons aged 60 years and over," it added.

The WHO vaccine advisory group also gave its endorsement on the efficacy level of the newly listed vaccine, putting it at 78 per

cent.

It added: "Vaccine efficacy against severe disease is 93 per cent. In adults aged less than 60 years, efficacy was 79 per cent; and in those aged 60 years and over it was 68 per cent.

"Vaccine efficacy against all variant-related COVID-19 disease was 71 per cent with an efficacy of 90 per cent against Kappa, and 65 per cent against Delta.

In view of these findings, WHO recommends the use of BBV152 vaccine according to the WHO Prioritisation Roadmap, even if currently recognised Variants of Concern (VOC) are present in the country," it added.

Session on 12th December 2021, should the situation persist."

The ECOWAS Summit attended by leaders from 13 countries then called, “on the African Union, the United Nations, and the bilateral and other multilateral partners to endorse and support the implementation of these sanctions."

The communique further stated that, “the Authority endorsed the main recommendations contained in the memorandum on the political situation in the Republic of Guinea and the report on the political situation in the Republic of Mali.”

The decision of the West African leaders according to the communique are: “A. On the political transition in the Republic of Guinea. The Authority reaffirms its demand for the unconditional release of President Alpha Condé.

“The Authority takes note of the recent developments in Guinea, particularly the adoption of the Transition Charter, the appointment of a civilian Prime Minister and the formation of the transition government.

"It urged the transition authorities to urgently submit a detailed timetable of activities to be carried out under the transition towards the holding of elections, in accordance with the decisions of the Extraordinary Summit of ECOWAS Heads of State and Government held on 16th September 2021.

“The Authority decides to appoint H.E. Dr Mohamed Ibn Chambas as Special Envoy to Guinea with a view to strengthening dialogue with the Transitional authorities towards a successful and short transition process.

"On the political transition in the Republic of Mali. The Authority remains concerned about the deterioration of the security situation in Mali, as a result of the heightened political uncertainties in the country. It calls on the Transition Authorities to intensify their efforts to improve the security situation, especially by ensuring effective state presence in the affected areas.

"In this context, the Authority calls on the neighbouring countries to step up security presence along their borders with Mali and instructs the ECOWAS Commission to deepen the ongoing discussions with the African Union Commission with a view to enhancing the security situation in the Sahel.

“Furthermore, the Authority calls for a more robust and offensive mandate and enhance the operational capacity of MINUSMA to deal with terrorism challenges in Mali. ECOWAS will accordingly request the United Nations Security Council to make the necessary amendments to the mandate of Continued on page 16

BUA Group Bags Outstanding Nigerian Conglomerate Award Peter Uzoho The BUA Group, Africa’s foods, manufacturing and infrastructure conglomerate, has been announced as the “Marketing Edge Outstanding Indigenous Conglomerate of the Decade.”

The West African marketing publication announced BUA as winner of the award at its annual Marketing Awards ceremony held in Lagos, recently.

BUA Group’s General Manager, Corporate Communications, Mr. O’tega Ogra, also emerged as the, “Outstanding Corporate Communications Personality” of The Year 2021 at the Marketing Edge Awards.

BUA, in a statement issued yesterday, thanked the organisers for recognising group’s hard

work, growth and contributions to the development of Nigeria’s economy in the last 10 years through innovative and highquality products, exceptional service delivery and social impact.

It noted that BUA, in the last decade, had improved Nigeria’s economic capacity by investing billions of dollars in building cement factories, as well as through various investments in the sugar, real estate, oil and gas, flour and pasta sectors that have contributed greatly to the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

The statement also recalled that BUA has carried out numerous Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) interventions in the areas of health, education, infrastructure, sports and social development and has remained committed

to the development of its host communities.

According to the statement, “We want to thank Marketing Edge for this award. This award is an acknowledgement of the hard work, and commitment of our employees in unlocking opportunities for the development of Nigeria and Africa. This award will spur us to do more in the coming years.”

Awarding Ogra with the Corporate Communications Personality of the year 2021, the award committee, according to the statement, noted that the BUA spokesman had continued to show exemplary leadership and unsurpassed grasp of the marketing and corporate communications landscape in Nigeria and sub-Saharan Africa.

Ogra’s leadership at the helm of corporate communications at BUA Group has helped propel the brand to enviable heights, whilst ensuring unparalleled brand affinity and brand loyalty for the Group, its subsidiaries as well as the people who make up the company.

BUA Group, based out of Lagos, is one of Nigeria’s largest conglomerates with business interests spanning critical sectors of the Nigerian economy.

Founded in 1988 by billionaire industrialist and philanthropist, Abdul Samad Rabiu, BUA Group’s business interests include cement manufacturing, sugar plantation and refineries, oil and gas, flour and pasta, port operations, real estate, rice, logistics, among others.

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TEN PARIS CLUB REFUND: MALAMI’S ACTION AGAINST PUBLIC MORALITY, INTEREST, SAY GOVS suspicious.

Malami had in a statement at the weekend issued by his Special Assistant on Media and Public Relations, Dr. Umar Jibrin Gwandu, faulted the insinuation that he was acting without due process in the settlement of certain judgment debts arising from the deduction and refunds due to the states and local governments from the Paris Club loan refunds, insisting that at the onset, the deductions were on account of four judgments in contention which were delivered at various times in 2014, 2015, 2017 and 2019.

However, the governors in their statement stressed that the directive by Malami was against public morality and the interest of the Nigerians, while describing some of the claims by the consultants as dubious.

In the statement, the governors argued that the decision by Malami to throw his weight behind the consultants that had been battling desperately to grab $418 million from the accounts of states and local governments raises questions of propriety and the spirit of justice.

The governors explained: "The AGF is supposed to be the chief arbiter in all matters concerning Nigerians, especially the poor masses of this country. It is incumbent upon him to, not just ensure that justice is done, but that justice is seen to have been done.

"The undue haste, with which the statement was issued even

before the service on the AGF of the court processes and the order dated November 5, 2021, restraining the federal government, seems to suggest that there is a special relationship between the Office of the AGF and the consultants over and above Nigerian citizens, whose interest the AGF as the chief law officer of the federation is statutorily bound to always protect.

"The statement also suggests that the restraining order issued last Friday, not only unsettled preconceived plans and angered the unnamed ‘government officers’ referred to by the media aide.”

They added: “The media aide to the AGF justifies the deductions on the basis that they are made pursuant to four court judgments; two of which are consent judgments and/or that the Nigeria Governors’ Forum/States and LGAs consented, expressed no objection to the payments and had already paid part of the debts to the said contractors and consultants.”

It also noted that the statement by the media aide to the AGF failed to name the judgments under reference and whether they were going to appeal or challenge it in any way.

“He also failed to specify which of the four judgments authorised payments and in what proportion to each of the contractors," the governors stated.

The governors pointed out that while it was easy to argue as the AGF did, that the NGF and ALGON took no early steps to appeal as

they should have done, adding that it was important to inform the Nigerian public that state governors have since appealed and are presently challenging the judgments in various courts.

“Interestingly, the AGF has been served all these processes.

Nevertheless, this was ignored and payment was authorised to be made and has been processed with unprecedented speed not common in the public service. It must be stated that between the NGF and AGF, the latter was in more vantage constitutional position and has a legal responsibility and burden to defend public interest,” the statement added.

The governors stated that the AGF should have initiated appeals against the said judgments once his attention was drawn to them, because public interest was at stake involving huge sums of money meant for the provision of public services.

Also, they pointed out that the state governments were not parties to any of the said judgments.

According to the NGF: "It should be further stated that the Office of the AGF failed to professionally defend the cases leading to those judgments and the courts commented on that unprofessional attitude.

"While we are constrained not to comment on a subject which is subjudice, we have a responsibility to the public to respond in some details to the statement issued by

the Office of the AGF in order to put the records straight.

"Any discerning legal mind would find no difficulty in concluding that the so-called judgments under reference are dripping with too many irregularities bordering on competence and lack of jurisdiction which are the bases why some of them are being challenged on appeal and in other courts. No diligent public officer would act on such judgments by recommending payment.

"It is even more curious that the AGF also recommended payments to some contractors allegedly based on judgments that did not make any monetary award or on claims that were struck out.

"The AGF may need to explain to Nigerians why these particular judgment debts are given unusual attention and priority and processed with supersonic speed over and above all others; some of which preceded these so-called judgments and have been pending for settlement by the AGF for several years", the governors declared.”

Furthermore, they stated: "While it is convenient to say that part of these judgment debts have been paid with the release of $86,546,526.65 and N19, 439,225,871.11 in 2016 and $100 million in 2018, to the contractors with the concurrence of the NGF; that does not detract from the fact that they were payments wrongly made which ought not to have been made even if they were products of consent judgments.”

ALL EYES ON IHIALA AS INEC CONCLUDES ANAMBRA GOVERNORSHIP ELECTION suspension of voting in Ihiala Local Government Area on account of alleged irregularities.

But the All Progressives Congress (APC) accused the candidate of All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Professor Chukwuma Soludo, and fellow party man and incumbent governor of the state, Willie Obiano, of rigging the election.

However, the state government appealed to the people of Ihiala to come out en masse today to cast their votes, assuring them of adequate security.

Meanwhile, CLEEN Foundation said there was need for INEC to improve on logistics and operational challenges associated with the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) to deliver more transparent and credible elections.

Ahead of today’s voting, prominent sons and daughters of Ihiala had mobilise indigenes of the area at home and in the diaspora to vote in today’s supplementary election.

Last Saturday’s governorship election was declared inconclusive after the exercise was cancelled in Ihiala. Though, Soludo had crossed the threshold requirement for victory after winning 18 out of the 21 local governments areas in the state.

Despite the fact that Soludo was in apparent victory, the situation in Ihiala necessitated a supplementary poll to avoid disenfranchising the area’s huge voting population of over 148, 000.

Announcing the adjustment to the voting timeline for Ihiala, INEC said, in a statement by its National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee, Festus Okoye, “We urge political parties, voters, election duty officials, election observers, the media and the general public to note this slight modification. We also appeal to citizens to conduct themselves in an orderly manner to ensure that the election is brought to a peaceful conclusion.”

However, Chairman of APC in the state, Basil Ejidike, accused Soludo and Obiano of rigging while rejecting the results so far declared by INEC. It vowed to contest the results to the Supreme Court, if INEC went ahead to declare Soludo winner of the election.

Ejidike said APC would never accept the election’s outcome. He called for cancellation of the election.

He stated, “We want the whole world to hear our voice that we will never accept the outcome of the Anambra gubernatorial election.

The candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) and the sitting Governor, Willie Obiano, manipulated the whole electoral system and we will stand to resist it.

“We virtually won in all the local governments, but Willie Obiano

and Charles Soludo, through instrumentality, corrupt-minded INEC officers, subverted the whole process in favour of APGA. “But if INEC goes ahead to announce the results, we will definitely challenge the election process at the court of law, up to Supreme Court. Nobody can intimidate us.”

Ejidike also addressed a press conference in Awka. He said despite the party's protests, there were no truth in some press statements attributed to the party, and being circulated in the media.

He said, "There have been too many information ascribed to us that is not true. Some people wrote whatever they liked and credited it to the party, when it didn't come from the party. One of them was the one that said APC has denounced the exercise, and called for cancellation, and the other was that we said we were heading to court to challenge the election.

"There is another one that said that I collapsed, after hearing the result of my ward, where they claimed I lost. I want to make it clear that they were false information.

None of them emanated from us.

"The picture saying that I collapsed is false. My polling unit 002 bridgehead market, Onitsha, was won by APC. I had 95 per cent in the unit and even in my ward. If you look at the picture they are circulating, you will know that it has no resemblance of my person at all. Please, discard the information."

But the state government assured the people of security through a public announcement by the Secretary to the State Government, Prof. Solo Chukwulobelu.

Chukwulobelu announced, "This is to inform the public, particularly, residents and voters in Ihiala Local Government Area of Anambra State that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has fixed Tuesday, 9th November, 2021 as the date for the 2021 Anambra Gubernatorial supplementary election for Ihiala local government area only.

"Anambra State Government, working with relevant security agencies, hereby assure Ndi Ihiala that adequate security arrangements have been made to protect life and property during the election. All are encouraged to come out and vote for the candidate of their choice.

"As Ndi Ihiala may have observed, elections were successfully and peacefully held in the other 20 local government areas of Anambra State and INEC has duly announced the results. No incidence of violence or voter molestation was recorded in the Anambra gubernatorial election, which held on Saturday,

6th November 2021.

"As a reminder, the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) had previously cancelled the sit-at-home order earlier announced and encouraged Ndi Anambra to come out and vote.

Anambra will continue to remain the light of the nation.”

CLEEN Foundation said there was need for INEC to improve logistics and address operational challenges associated with the BVAS. The Non-governmental Organisation (NGO) noted that the election was visibly marred by logistics and operational challenges with regard to the distribution of election materials and late arrival of INEC officials at many of the polling units.

The foundation stated that the challenges led to late opening of polling in some units, the extension of the polls from 2.30pm to 4.30pm, and subsequent disenfranchisement of some eligible voters due to unavailability of election materials and INEC officials.

In a statement by Acting Executive Director, CLEEN Foundation, Ruth Olofin, the foundation recommended that INEC should conduct more voter awareness on the BVAS machine.

CLEEN said, “INEC result portal should be improved for more transparency and accountability through automation of the sum of votes received by political parties at the polling units; INEC should prosecute electoral offenders to serve as deterrent to others; “INEC should provide enough sensitive materials, such as Braille for voters with visual impairment; the commission should train and retrain electoral officers and ad-hoc staff to enable them meet with the changing needs of the electorate in Nigeria.”

In related development, THISDAY gathered that prominent indigenes of Ihiala, who began mobilising to ensure large turn out of voters on Tuesday included Mr. Ernest Obiejesi, popularly known as Obijackson; chairman of Air Peace Airline, Allen Onyema; and Chairman of Seplat Oil, Dr. ABC Orjiakor, among others.

Ihiala is reputed as the local government with the highest concentration of billionaires in Anambra State, after Nnewi, and it also boasts the second largest voting strength in the state, after Idemili North Local Government Area.

The local government will today decide the fate of the major candidates in the governorship race, as 148,000 voters in the area go to the poll.

Sources told THISDAY that the major candidates in the Anambra governorship election had shifted their attention to Ihiala, pressing

to mobilise voters for themselves.

It was further gathered that many voters from Ihiala, who resided in other towns, had been coming home since noon yesterday, in preparation for today’s poll.

"Some of our brothers, who live in Lagos and Abuja, have already arrived by air, on the sponsorship of some of our billionaires," a source said.

Obiano, too, was alleged to be pressing some of the notable figures in the state to work for APGA and ensure that Soludo won the election.

Soludo is currently leading with about 45,000 votes, but with 148,000 votes still up for grabs, if the Ihiala people decide to favour PDP's candidate, Mr. Valentine Ozigbo or APC's Senator Andy Uba, they could comfortably make anyone of them the next governor of the state.

But a source said Onyema was already working hard to ensure Soludo emerged victorious.

Not unexpectedly, the governorship candidate of African Democratic Congress (ADC), Nze Akachukwu Nwankpo, has withdrawn from the race and thrown his weight behind Soludo. Nwankpo, after allegedly consulting with his party leadership, elected to support Soludo.

The ADC candidate said, "Today, by 18.46 pm, I and my wife, Bar. Obiageli Nwankpo, spoke with Prof.

Chukwuma Charles Soludo, the gubernatorial candidate of APGA and congratulated him for a hard fought election and, in fact, conceded to him the title of the next governor of Anambra State.

“My dear friend and brother, I have studied the trend of this election and seen clearly that the people of Anambra State want you to lead a deep seated effort to reform and rebuild our state.

Anambra State must now become a state run on the basis of the will and desire of our people. I add my voice in calling the people of Ihiala Local Government to rise up and resoundingly end this election by massively voting for Soludo.

"Let there be no doubt that Ihiala LGA stands where the rest of Anambra State stands. I further advise you to mount the horse of great leadership and reach out to other candidates with humility and respect so that together we can all stop pressure-cooking Anambra State and start rebuilding.

“Reach to Val Ozigbo, who is much loved, and to Dr. Andy Uba, who has equally fought a hard campaign. Let us, together, build a state, where all men of faith can find comfort and partnership in Christ.

“Congratulations, Odenigbo. I will vote APGA tomorrow and be assured Ihiala will massively vote APGA tomorrow."

Querying the order to pay, the governors also stated: "States can still go after the contractors to recover the funds wrongly made. It should concern the AGF that ALGON disowned the contracts claimed

by RIOK and the same was duly communicated to him requesting him to prevent the use of LG funds to “settle dubious and illegal claims’’ The governors therefore queried: "Was the AGF not concerned that several contractors are laying claim to legal fees for the same Paris Club Refund? Was it lost on the AGF on the detailed procedure available under the law how legal fees can be claimed in deserving cases?"

The governors further noted that, "one of the strange payments made is that of $47,831,920 million to Panic Alert Security Systems Ltd/ George Uboh for allegedly reviewing a 16-page judgment for the then factional NGF. “Can the Office of the AGF point to any consent judgment awarding that sum to Panic Alert? Did the NGF’s letter of 20th January, 2020, relied upon by the AGF ever recommend the payment of any sum?

The statement added: "LINAS and NED Nwoko in this scheme are walking away with $68,658,193.83 state funds allegedly for legal consultancy services," asking therefore.

"Is the AGF not aware that the work alleged to have been done by him was already contained in a FAAC Reconciliation Committee Report constituted in 2005 submitted in 2007 with recommendations on how states and LGAs should be refunded the over charges from the Paris Club Refunds."

The NGF alleged: "Dr. Ted Iseghohi-Edwards has been paid the sum of $159 million in promissory notes, yet he had his matter in Suit No FCT/HC/CV/1353/18 struck out on November 10th, 2020.

"Furthermore, the legal basis for his claim is rooted in Suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/130/13: LINAS International Limited & 235 ORS V FGN which clearly stated that he cannot benefit under the judgment because he was not a party in the case and cannot enforce the terms of the judgment. Contrary to the representation of the AGF, the EFCC’s report on TED was negative.

"The report not only recommended his arrest but a forfeiture of any of his assets associated with the Paris Club Refund. The AGF ignored these recommendations."

The governors further disputed the payments to RIOK to whom the AGF supports and recommended the payment of $142,028,941.95.

Accordingly, the governors stated: "This was confirmed by the Court of Appeal in Appeal No CA/558/2017.

That is the appeal now before the Supreme Court (SC). Which Judgment then is the basis of the AGF recommendation that RIOK be paid the sum of $142,028,941.95.

"There is also no evidence of execution of any contract by RIOK. Curiously, the Department of State Security (DSS) is alleged to have confirmed 50 per cent execution.

The Court and EFCC stated clearly that it is not the responsibility of the DSS to ascertain the execution of contracts as they do not have the expertise.

"ALGON disowned the contracts.

Why will the AGF insist on them?

It is not true that the EFCC in its report recommended payment to the contractors. It did not.

"In the case of payments recommended and paid to Prince Orji Nwafor Orizu $1,219,440.45, and Olaitan Bello – $215,195.36, it remains a mystery. These two lawyers are alleged to have performed legal services for RIOK and its associated companies and not for the states or LGAs. Why they are paid from State resources is only imagined.

"The AGF also claims he intervened to pay the contractors to avoid execution of the judgments against the federal government resources.

That is absolutely not true at all.

Assets of the FGN were not at any time threatened. The NGF is not aware that there is any existing mandamus issued by any court in favour of the contractors against the federal government.

"The only application for mandamus by Panic Alert is pending for hearing at the Federal High Court and parties have since joined issues.

"The AGF also says that the NGF and LGAs seek to transfer their liability to the FGN. That is not true. There is no liability to transfer in the first place and none exists;

neither has the NGF provided any undertaking or indemnity to the FGN to act on its behalf as represented by the AGF.” Meanwhile, Malami maintained that two of the judgments were Consent Judgments based on Terms of Settlement entered into by the NGF in 2017 and 2019.

He noted that two of the four judgments were based on an earlier judgment delivered by the Federal High Court in 2013.

“It is, however, amazing that from 2013 – 2021 neither NGF nor ALGON deemed it fit to either challenge or fully comply with any of these judgments. In furtherance of the consent and settlement the NGF itself made payments in billions to the consultants based on the same judgment it is deriding now.

“By various letters addressed to the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Finance, both NGF and ALGON expressed no objection and actually recommended the same set of consultants for payment. Indeed, the judgment debts were much higher than the above figure, but these officers ensured that the Consultants granted consistent concessional offer,” he added.

According to him, his office had subjected the claims of the consultants/contractors to investigations by both the DSS and EFCC in order to further ascertain its veracity, adding that recommendations for payment were made based on the positive outcomes of the investigations.

Malami maintained that since both the NGF and ALGON that had entered into judicial settlement on account of which consent judgment was entered refused to comply with the judgments, “it became pertinent for the federal government to take the initiative in order to prevent a situation where the debt liability of NGF and ALGON would be transferred to the Federal Government and eventually excluded against its assets and interest.”

“The interest of the federal government to intervene in the negotiated settlement was borne out of the fact that the consultants made the federal government a party to the action against NGF and ALGON the implication of which was that the judgment may be executed against the interest and assets of the federal government over liability that was incurred exclusively

by NGF and ALGON in respect of which the federal government is not responsible.

“It is curious to note that both NGF and ALGON who had actual knowledge of these judgments between 2013 and 2019, consented to their partial compliance and also undertook in 2019 to settle them from their FAAC Allocations, only turned around in 2021 to take steps to challenge the judgments.

“The federal government acted on the Undertaking/Indemnity provided by NGF. More so the judgment creditors also obtained orders of mandamus compelling the issuance of the promissory notes.”

The statement added: “It is remarkable to note that the NGF at various times in 2016 and 2018 received payments from the federal government under the guise of legal and consultancy fees related to the same Paris Club refunds. Specifically, NGF was paid US$86,546,526.65 and N19,439,225,871.11 in 2016 and US$100,000,000.00 in 2018. It was however, convenient at that time not to complain about payment of consultants.

“Thus, the federal government did not act in vacuum before the decision to comply with the existing judgments was taken. The federal government could not fold its arms and watch while the consultants/ contractors had already obtained garnishee order absolute attaching the funds of the Federal Government in the Central Bank of Nigeria on account of the fact that the refunds of the Paris Club loans were made by the federal government to the states and local governments in contempt of an existing court judgments procured against NGF and ALGON by consent.”

He argued that the federal government did not resort to arbitrary deductions of funds belonging to states and local governments, saying it was rather in furtherance of the need to settle judgment debts judiciously consented to by NGF and ALGON that were incurred but in respect of which they are seeking to transfer the liability of same to the federal government.

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

PROTECTING THE GIRL-CHILD Adewale Kupoluyi argues the need to empower the girl-child

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he girl-child has continued to be at the receiving end when it comes to discrimination in society, as this unfortunate development prevents her from attaining her full potential in life. This issue came on spotlight on the International Day of the Girl-Child, themed “Digital Generation: Our Generation” at the live interactive programme, Boiling Point, aired on the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta (FUNAAB), Ogun State radio station, FUNAAB Radio 89.5FM. The discussants were the Director, Budding Leaders Empowerment Initiative (BLEI), Prof.

Iyabo Kehinde; General Secretary, Child Protection Network (CPN), Mrs. Oviutu Adeleke; and a legal practitioner, Mr. Clement Obasanya; while Miss. Chienye Egwuonwu of the radio station anchored the programme.

Prof. Kehinde said the adolescence age is the vulnerable stage in human development even though people try to sideline them. She agreed that a girl-child is prone to several vulnerabilities, which the opposite gender is not faced with and stressed the need to acknowledge the huge potential of the adolescence girl-child. Early marriage is considered as one of the main challenges facing the girl-child that makes a lot of girls to be put into the labour market by becoming house girls and victims of forced prostitution, saying that girls in the rural area are usually more prone to abuses than the ones in the urban areas. Prof. Kehinde further disclosed that there are a lot of rural women, who believe that whenever their husbands have a second wife, they have to prove to their husbands, which causes unhealthy competing by promoting the raising up of children they are unable to care for, just to prove a point only to give birth to children that would become victims of rape, child molestation, prostitution, and HIV/AIDS. The Don admitted that the girl-child has a lot to give society in terms of being caring and homely to their parents, siblings and made a case for proper awareness on why vulnerable girls should their rights. She, however, warned that the humiliation being meted out to the girl-child may not be completely eradicated because of compelling factors. Towards this end, she called on the digital world to beam more searchlights on the plight of the girl-child even though the social media have both positive and negative sides that she termed, double edge-sword. Prof. Kehinde admonished the girl-child to take advantage of the digital world to acquire online education in tandem this year’s theme that is centered on digital technology. “No girl-child should stay at home, none should stay indoors, lamenting and be crying, for they can make their voices heard through social media. There is an app that focuses on the girl-child molestation in which the user can remain anonymous while the case can be taken up”, BLEI Director added. To empower our girls, the discussant informed that there are many organisations already investing a lot of resources on Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), urging girls to become part of this. Not only that, parents should be ready to hear out their children, most especially the girls because they are tenderly, emotional and sensitive, who always crave for love and would not mind to seek such from anywhere they could find it, but that if the parents are there to provide the needed care, the girls would build easily confidence in their parents. Prof. Kehinde highlighted the crucial role played by teachers because many young people believe in their parents even more than their parents, urging the teachers to take advantage of this to teach them good morals and their rights under the law.

For Mrs. Oviutu Adeleke, the girl-child plays multiple roles in society,

NO GIRL-CHILD SHOULD STAY AT HOME, NONE SHOULD STAY INDOORS, LAMENTING AND BE CRYING, FOR THEY CAN MAKE THEIR VOICES HEARD THROUGH SOCIAL MEDIA

saying “When we are look at the African culture, we realise that there are a lot of things imposed on the girl-child when compared with the boy-child simply because that is the way our cultures put it. We are agitating that if truly the girl-child is educated, the family is safe because such a child would see herself as someone that ought to keep the family together and would look at herself and the issue of inequality would not be there again. At times, girls make some sacrifice for boys in the family, but the boys do not see it that way, they rather see it as their right. That is why there is the need for awareness that the girls should see themselves as equal to their peers all over the world and parents too should not look down on their children”. Mrs. Adeleke suggested that parents should give both the boy and the girl equal opportunities while girls should have confidence in themselves and take their education seriously.

In addition, the CPN General Secretary called on the government to make life easy for the citizenry by putting in place policies that discourage massive migration to the urban areas, maintaining that our mindset has to be changed by according more respect to the girl-child.

She further cautioned parents to desist from looking for money at all costs at the detriment of their children and family. More importantly, Mrs. Adeleke enjoined parents to adopt the right approach in the course of correcting their children. “For instance, everything is not about beating. They should show more love so that our children can confide in their parents by serving as the first point of contact”, she stated. The attorney, Mr. Clement Obasanya stressed the importance of re-orientation such that the girl-child would not be made to play the role of second fiddle while making reference to the provisions of the 1999 Nigerian Constitution, which disallows any form of discrimination or segregation, insisting that a girl-child is as important as the boy-child.

The lawyer drew attention to the Child’s Right Act, 2003 that also guards the girl-child against discrimination.

Another issue encouraging gender discrimination is conflict of the laws. Citing some examples, Mr. Obasanya alluded that in North Nigeria, they are following the customary law that allows the girl-child to be married off at an early age, noting that most of the states practice Sharia law, which is constitutionally-recognised and that Section 38, which provides for the freedom of thought, conscience, and religion, runs contrary to the provisions of Section 10 that talks about the state not adopting any religion as state religion. In the same vein, he added that in some communities across the country, women are still not permitted to own properties, which is against the spirit and letters of the constitution. “How many people are aware of the existence of the Child’s Right Act? Hence, there is the need for more enlightenment for the people to know their rights under the law. In our communities these days, how many people get married legally? They are not aware of the provisions of the Marriage Act. What we have today is many void marriages within the community”, the lawyer said. On what to do, he solicited for proper education and meting out of appropriate sanctions and punishments to offenders that violate the rights of the girl-child, the judicial system should ensure that citizens have faith in the system while there should be proper education at the primary school level for the child-girl to be adequately equipped early in life.

Dr. Kupoluyi wrote from Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Ogun State

LET’S CELEBRATE OUR HEROES Nigeria should provide an enabling environment for indigenous entrepreneurs to thrive, writes Abubakar Idris “We are a nation that kills our best. Generosity is a tainted word. Largeness of heart is regarded as a medical condition, like an enlarged heart, requiring drastic intervention.

Tolerance is ridiculed as a mark of weakness.

And so we kill the generous, the large of heart, the tolerant. Even the symbols that should heal and bind the nation together are turned into agencies of death, including faith, piety and religion.” - Wole Soyinka

S

till smarting from the catastrophic effects of corona virus pandemic on my business and Nigerians in general, the last I wished was to be locked in a tete-a-tete with a Chinese, and so soon for that matter! I must warn: this is not about racial profiling. But China dealt a huge devastating blow to businesses in Nigeria. The debilitating 2020 lockdown literally snuffed out lives of millions of compatriots and I hold China responsible for it.

Despite fate’s obduracy in ensuring we sat beside each other, I buried my head in the papers.

Then suddenly, I thought I heard the sound of a cough or was it a sneeze? - which literally sent jitters down my spine! Never mind you must have been vaccinated to be eligible to be on the fight in the first place. I soon realised he was trying to engage me in a conversation. I kept a straight face nonetheless. Everything seemed to work well until a nudge jolted me out of reverie after some time.

Well, I shouldn’t wear my pain like a shirt and trousers. This folk might not even have visited or stayed in his birthplace for a week in the past

decade or more. I warmed up to him at last. He was on a business trip and wished to know more about his destination.

“A great businessman in Africa from Nigeria,” he wanted to add a name but seemed to have some momentary difficulty.

“Oh, you meant Aliko Dangote? He’s a business tycoon from Nigeria!”

My interlocutor shook his head in the negative.

He was attempting to mumble some names. “We also have Abdul Samad Rabiu, Danjuma, Mohammed Indimi, Femi Otedola, Mike Adenuga…”

By then he had reached out to his tablet. He mentioned a name I had vaguely heard about Benedict Peters. “He is involved in a lot businesses across Africa,” he added. Since I didn’t want to sound stupid, I had to play along. However, I succeeded in diverting his attention to other matters of interest, not least, the impact of COVID-19 on the economies of the world.

My memory of Benedict Peters related to his sports philanthropy such as payment of salaries of the technical adviser of the Super Eagles and the national football coaches. Even this aspect I could only faintly recall - I wasn’t sure of the details again. But my flight friend was leading me to something else about the man, business wise. I made up my mind instantly to research about this business mogul.

The revelations are mind-boggling. Benedict Peters must be self-effacing by nature. I thought all our billionaires are well known to the public. Yes, I heard about Aiteo Group, possibly saw adverts about the company in the papers but I’m not sure I ever paid particular attention to the company,

which is said to own one of the largest petroleum tank farms in Nigeria with facilities of about 250 million litres on over 100,000 square meters of landmass. So Peters is a major player in the oil and gas industry!

However, I wanted to know more because in this clime millionaires, not to talk about billionaires, are quite untouchables. I was shocked to the marrow, even stupefied. The man was in the eye of the storm at a point in time. I could not imagine the EFCC going after the Dangotes of this world, the Theophilus Danjumas, Mohammed Indimis of this world and a host of others. These are respected businessmen in Nigeria involved in legitimate businesses. So also is Benedict Peters, who founded the Aiteo Group, Nigeria’s largest indigenous oil producing firm. Hence, why the exception? Does it have to do with his ethnic background? Does it have to do with his business competitors, such as attempts by some IOCs to undermine him? Is it an offence for Peters to champion local content, empowering his compatriots as against foreign interests? Why the endless media campaign of vilification against Peters?

After perusing settled court decisions in matters affecting him, the conclusion of any independent observer was a calculated campaign of calumny directed against the man, the Pull Him Down mentality in Nigeria.

For instance, in one settled court verdict, the FCT High Court had stated unambiguously that Benedict Peters legitimately owned the said properties in the United Kingdom, which could therefore not be forfeited to the Federal Government. It was however shocking, that the anti-graft

agency manifestly with intention of persecution, did not disclose this subsisting judgement when it went ahead to obtain an ex parte forfeiture order in a court of coordinate jurisdiction without putting the defendant on notice! The court took cognizance of the EFCC’s “gross misstatements, concealment and misrepresentation of facts”.

In her July 6, 2018 judgement, the Honourable Justice Nyako declared: “…a subsisting judgement of a court of coordinate jurisdiction has found and held inter alia that ... these said properties amongst others having being legitimately acquired by the Defendant, they cannot be forfeited to the government under any circumstances… The order of interim forfeiture that was made in this case cannot override or supersede an order of final judgement of a court of coordinate jurisdiction.”

What is more, it was completely appalling and unwarranted to seek to impugn the reputation of one of Nigeria’s foremost industrialists, who never had any criminal record in his distinguished career. The egregious act of the agency was later declared by a court of competent jurisdiction as ultra vires, unconstitutional and a flagrant violation of his fundamental rights. Again the question must be asked. Peters, just like Dangote, Adenuga, Danjuma, to mention a few, are not just commoners in this country. Does it have to do with the ethnic background of Peters? Why the slur campaign against the man? Why the unremitting attacks? Why levitating dead issues?

My mind is really exercised. I’m so worried for this country, which is the main reason for this public intervention.

Dr Idris wrote from Zaria, Kaduna State

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T H I S D AY • TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 2021

EDITORIAL THE WORLD BANK BLACKLIST The sanction by the World Bank Group is another wake-up call

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or far too long, Nigeria’s image has taken a bashing due to several unwholesome practices by some players in the private and public space. From corruption in public office, peddling of drugs, email, and other internet scams, some of our nationals have been implicated to our collective shame. It then came as no surprise that the latest report by global anti-graft agency, Transparency International (TI) ranks Nigeria 149 out of 183 countries on the Corruption Perception Index (CPI). This is despite the claims by agencies saddled with the responsibility of tackling corruption that they are winning the battle against the malaise.

Given the foregoing, we are concerned by the recent blacklisting of 18 Nigerians and firms operating in the country by the World Bank Group for engaging in corrupt tendencies, fraud, and collusive practices, among other infractions. The new annual report titled ‘World Bank Group Sanctions System FY21’ published a list of some 160 debarred individuals and firms across the world, whose activities failed the transparency and IT IS UNFORTUNATE THAT THE BREACHES FOR WHICH integrity test of the Bretton Woods institution.

THE 18 INDIVIDUALS AND FIRMS WERE SANCTIONED The WBG annual report covering Fiscal

BY THE WORLD BANK ARE Year 2021 (1st July 2020 USUALLY TREATED WITH to 30th June 2021) was KID GLOVES BY RELEVANT prepared by the offices AGENCIES IN OUR SHORES of the WBG’s sanctions system, comprising the Integrity Vice Presidency (INT), the Office of Suspension and Debarment (OSD), and the Sanctions Board.

Regrettably, out of the 160 culprits, Nigeria accounted for 18, made up of eight individuals and 10 firms, who were variously excluded from WBG’s-funded contracts for periods of between six months and five years. Interestingly, the debarments made by the African Development Bank (AfDB)

Letters to the Editor

were recognised by World Bank, making the affected firms to be barred under cross-debarment policy. Each of the sanctions related to a finding that the firms or individuals had engaged in at least one of the five sanctionable practices – fraud, corruption, collusion, coercion, or obstruction – while participating in World Bank-funded projects. The individuals and firms were associated with strong indictments by the World Bank, not only against them but also by implication, on how we do business in Nigeria.

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

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

TO OUR READERS Letters in response to specific 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.

THE PRIVATIONS OF PRIVATE EMPLOYMENT

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ost of them are marked by appalling working conditions, delay in payment of wages, and pitifully poor wages. Yet, they are never in danger of being put out of business because there is in place an economic climate that stuffs the pool of desperate job seekers they draw from.

In Nigeria, on the canvass of private employment, two disparate worlds collide: there is a world of private employment where the pay is high and many nice perks abundant. This world holds many multinational companies and key players in the financial and investment sectors. They usually have vast resources and boast a diverse workforce. There is the other world that holds the small fish.

This world holds many firms run by sole proprietors who may be professionals such as lawyers, engineers, accountants, surveyors and architects, and many others who are involved in different kinds of business that employ people. In this world, employers scratch their heads and scramble to pay those they employ. Sometimes they meet up, most times they don’t and there is a lot of abuse going on, a lot of it. They are not helped by Nigeria`s peculiarly unfavourable business climate. Historically, labour has always been one of man`s surest anchors. Apart from the engagement it provides the unique faculties that each human being boasts, labour when adequately rewarded as should be the case, keeps the labourer from the uniquely distressing perils of penury.

In Nigeria, the government is the biggest single employer of labour.

In keeping with labour standards around the world, the government, especially the Federal Government tries to pay wages when due, guarantee job security, pension upon retirement, and generally tries to ensure fair labour standards. Government employment is generally safer with slightly better conditions than private employment. In the light of these, it can only be scandalous that in Nigeria, some states

t is unfortunate that the breaches for which the 18 individuals and firms were sanctioned by the World Bank are usually treated with kid gloves by relevant agencies in our shores. They range from fraudulent and collusive practices, and misrepresentation of past experiences in a bid for a road maintenance contract (falsehood), among others. Firms that run afoul of the law here escape sanctions due to the social status of their promoters, partisan leaning or the fact that some of them are either owned by highly placed public officials or indulge in influence-peddling.

In a message accompanying the report, the World Bank President, David Malpass said the negative impacts of corruption on lives and livelihoods are well known. “Corruption diverts scarce development dollars from the people who need them most and corrodes the systems and services that are integral for reducing extreme poverty,” he said. The unwholesome acts for which the World Bank Group bared its fangs on the 18 Nigerian firms and individuals largely account for the situation in our country today.

Leading professional services firm, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) had in a recent report stated that corruption in Nigeria could cost up to 37 per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by 2030, if it is not dealt with immediately.

The sanctions by the World Bank Group should serve as a wake-up call to both the government, the anti-graft agencies, the National Assembly, and apex regulatory bodies to wear a new garb of fighting corruption and any semblance of it in the public and private space. This emblem of shame is one too many.

and local governments owe their workers for months without end.

While they cite inconsistent and inadequate allocation to justify such interminable delays, Nigerians know that a lot of the delay in the payment of salaries stems from the mismanagement of public funds which itself is fueled by the avarice of those in power.

Away from the world of public employment, in most private employments, what goes on is full-fledged abuse, the kind that simply makes work a nightmare. It is a veritable witch`s brew: long hours, poor, inconsistent pay; absurd rules at work, arbitrary dismissals and a whole lot. A lot of the conditions in many places of work make work almost impossible.

These challenges go on unchecked and unbridled. Because job insecurity plagues a lot of these jobs, at the slightest hint of discontent, employees are dismissed, with some of them owed many months` salaries. They are dared to canvass all avenues to seek a redress while the pool of joblessness is combed for new victims. Because the legal hurdles placed in their paths by Nigeria`s ponderous judicial process are simply too intimidating, their dreams of redress soon peter out and they are left to lick their wounds.

The natural question is whether the employment laws in place in Nigeria are sufficient to deter the many hawks who masquerade as private employers from treating their employees as they want. The simple answer is no. The laws do not put in pace an adamantine legal framework. Even when the laws pretend to so do, enforcement usually comes up short leaving many employees and job seekers at the mercy of ruthless employers. In every society, satisfactory employment metrics are used to measure the quality of life people enjoy. This is critical and if Nigeria ever desires the greater happiness of its citizens, it must examine how they work, but especially where they work and the conditions under which they work.

Kene Obiezu, keneobiezu@gmail.com

OBASEKI AND THE NIGERIAN OBSERVER

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he Nigerian Observer is one of Nigeria’s oldest newspapers.

It used to have columnists like Anthony Enahoro, Abiola Adetokunbo, Osasere Adagbonyin, Andy Akporugo, and many big names. From the South-South zone of Nigeria, there was almost no big journalist today who did not cut their teeth and hone their skills as journalists writing for this esteemed newspaper.

The Nigerian Observer had offices across the nooks and crannies of Nigeria.

As a student, I wrote a column for The Nigerian Observer known as Acada Gist for four years. My editors then were the much respected Mike Oputeh, Ofure Osehobo, Flora Okoye and Nasamu Jacobson. This was in the very early 90s. The Nigerian Observer was a truly national newspaper.

But over the years, The Nigerian Observer was abandoned. All the infrastructure, from the library to the newsroom, to utilities like power supply, toilets were just left to rot. If you walked into the press, you would see clanging pieces of metal fit only for a scrap yard. The Nigerian Observer, starved and ridiculed, was left to die a slow and very painful death.

But Governor Obaseki has changed all of that. The man has torn down the old walls, sent the scrap metals into the dustbin and brought in these gigantic printing machines. The Nigerian Observer, almost dead and buried will wear a new look as a hub for the arts and entertainment, but to retain its personality as a centre of media excellence and endeavour.

With this step at The Nigerian Observer, we thank Governor Obaseki and wish him well in his future endeavours in Edo State. With the redemption and life line he has given The Nigerian Observer, Mr Godwin Obaseki successfully wrote his name in gold in some of our hearts. The story of Obaseki and The Nigerian Observer will be a lesson in governance to past and future administrations, and that is that: that the good that men do lives after them.

Bob MajiriOghene Etemiku, WADONOR, cultural voice of Nigeria.

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TUESDAY, ΁˜ ͺ͸ͺ͹ ˾ T H I S D AY

NEWS

ZIK PRIZE IN LEADERSHIP AND GOOD GOVERNANCE...

L-R: Lagos APC Chairman, Pastor Cornelius Ojelabi; Kebbi State Governor, Senator Atiku Bagudu; Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu with his Zik Prize in Good Governance; Nasarawa State Governor, Engr.

Abdullahi Sule and Managing Director, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mallam Mele Kyari, during the 2020 Zik Prize in Leadership and Public Service, organised by the Public Policy Research and Analysis Centre (PPRAC), at the Eko Hotel and Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos ... recently

Money Laundering: Ex-Pension Task Team Boss, Maina Gets Eight Years Jail Term To forfeit N2.1bn, houses, cars to FG EFCC clashes with correctional staff officials over custody Alex Enumah and Kingsley Nwezeh in Abuja After two years of criminal trial of former Chairman of the Pension Reform Task Team (PRTT), Mr. Abdulrasheed Maina, a Federal High Court in Abuja yesterday found him guilty of money laundering allegations and subsequently sentenced him to eight years custody at the Nigerian Correctional Service Center in Kuje, Abuja.

Maina had been standing trial before Justice Okon Abang of the Federal High Court since 2019, when he was arraigned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

Although he had pleaded not guilty to all 12-count charge filed against him, the court however after listening to prosecution witnesses as well as going through documents tendered against Maina held that the defendant was guilty of laundering over N2 billion funds belonging to pensioners in the country.

Convicted alongside the former pension task team boss was

his company, Common Input Property and Investment Limited.

Maina and the firm are to forfeit to the federal government about N2.1 billion traced to their bank accounts and the company would thereafter be wound up.

While one of the accounts had cash deposits of N300 million, the other two contained N500 million, and N1.5 billion respectively.

According to the judge, there was evidence that Maina concealed his true identity as a signatory to the accounts in banks – by using the identity of his family members without their knowledge.

The court further observed that Maina's salaries and emoluments in all his years as a civil servant could not amount to the monies in the said accounts.

In convicting Maina of money laundering, the judge held that Maina ran foul of the law when he purchased a property in Abuja, with cash, in the sum of $1.4 million, which was above the statutory threshold of N5 million and without passing through a financial institution.

ECOWAS SUSTAINS MEASURES AGAINST GUINEA, SANCTIONS MALI MINUSMA. “On the political front, the Chair of ECOWAS informed the Authority of the official notification by the transition authorities of their inability to meet the transition deadline of February 2022.

"The Authority highly deplores the lack of progress made in the preparations for the elections, including the absence of a detailed timetable of activities for the conduct of elections on the agreed dates.”

It reiterated the need to adhere to the transition timetable in respect of the elections scheduled for 27th February 2022 and calls on the Transition Authorities to act accordingly to ensure an expeditious return to constitutional order.

The situation in Mali and Guinea will be reviewed at the Ordinary Summit of the ECOWAS Heads of State and Government on the 12th of December 2021.

He added that ECOWAS Heads of State and Government

would continue to prevail on the military juntas in Guinea and Mali to return their countries to democratic rule.

According to him “one of the important points that the ECOWAS Heads of State and Government make is that coups and coups de'tat generally are just completely unacceptable....and that we cannot continue to have a situation where they are tolerated for the simple reason that in Africa, West Africa in particular, we’ve gone way beyond military coups as an answer to the question of change in political actors.”

The VP further said, “there is a very strong feeling amongst the Heads of State that we must insist, that other international bodies: the UN, EU, and other regional groups must support the impositions of sanctions on individuals and groups that choose not to follow the democratic process of change of government and choose to go by way of coup de‘tat.”

Other properties the judge held should be forfeited to the federal government included Maina’s houses at Life Camp and Jabi Districts of Abuja, a bulletproof car and a BMW 5 series that were found at the premises of Maina.

According to the judgment the properties should be auctioned and the proceeds given to the federal government.

Justice Abang who stated that the offences for which Maina was

convicted attracted a maximum sentence of 14 years, however handed him eight years based on Maina’s plea to be lenient in his sentencing.

The sentencing which would run concurrently, takes effect from October 25, 2019, which is the date of arraignment.

Meanwhile, a mild drama occurred outside the court shortly after the sentencing of Maina.

Operatives of the EFCC

had engaged in an altercation with officials of the Nigerian Correctional Service over the custody of Maina.

The personnel from the Correctional Service, who were in court where already on standby to take Maina into custody in line with the judgment but were however resisted by EFCC operatives who insisted that Maina must go in their vehicle.

In the end however, officials

of the Correctional Service finally had their way and took Maina away in their vehicle.

The same judge had in October sentenced Faisal, Maina’s son who is at large, to seven years imprisonment on a three-count charge bordering on money laundering.

Recall that Maina had jumped his bail and was re-arrested and brought to continue his trial which was ongoing in his absence.

FG: Empowering Youths Alone Can't Solve Unemployment Challenge 6,054 Nigerians benefit from N75bn Youths Investment Fund Udora Orizu in Abuja The federal government yesterday said empowering youths in the country alone might no longer solve the problem of unemployment in the country.

The Minister of Youths and Sports Development, Sunday Dare who stated this when he appeared before the House of Representatives Committee on youths and sports to defend his ministry’s 2022 budget proposal, said empowerment was just like unemployment, hence the need to invest in the youths.

According to him, the ministry has made a paradigm shift when it comes to youth development, by moving from empowerment to investing.

Dare said: "We’ve been able to make paradigm shift when it comes to youth development and that shift is at the continental and international level. We have moved from empowerment to investing in the youths, because empowerment can no longer solve the problem of unemployment.

“Empowerment is just like unemployment. We have youths that are skilled with great ideas and all our trainings is towards investing in the lives of our youths."

Reviewing the 2021 budget performance, the Minister told the lawmakers, that the N25

billion appropriated for it was yet to be utilised.

He, however, explained that they were at a point of accessing the funds, adding that when they do, it would help to scale up the number of youths that would benefit.

"We thank Mr. President for the approval of N25 billion in 2021 Appropriation Bill, the ministry is yet to utilise that money for very justifiable reasons. We are at a point which we are ready to access that money.

“And that will be a trigger to scaling up the number of youths that will benefit. As we speak today the funds released were released by CBN, administered by CBN and micro finance bank, they have the platform that process it and because it’s their money, we didn’t administer a dime out of that money."

Speaking further, Dare disclosed that about 6054 Nigerians had benefited from the N75 billion youths investment fund.

He also disclosed that the ministry has created a loan management system which according to him would increase number of beneficiaries.

He added that the ministry plans to complete 12, out of the 48 youth development centers across the geopolitical zones in 2022.

The minister said: "Last year,

you will recall that Mr. President in council approved N75 billion for three years under the Nigerian Youth Investment Fund. We started out with a small advance loan from the Central Bank of Nigeria.

“We requested for N5 billion but as we speak only N2.9 billion has been released. As we speak today 6054 have benefited from the Nigerian Youth Investment Fund. We have gone ahead to make sure that our website releases the names of some of the beneficiaries and the amount they received, the sector of SMEs in which they operate.

“Our goal is to ensure that we increase the number of beneficiaries and that’s why we have developed as a ministry our own loan management system, it will give us a hundred percent control, and also open the door for us to access N25 billion directly from the finance ministry."

He said further: "In 2022, our plan is to complete 12 youth development centers across the geopolitical zones. The aim of these development centers is to bring development directly to the youths, keep them within their immediate communities, where they can learn technical skills.

“Chairman, I took note of your admonition, the honest thing I want to speak to is the scaling, there’s no program that we will

do that will be impactful unless the scale is high. We hope that the youth investment fund, the moment we get past the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP), there will be a major impact when it comes to empowerment of our youths."

Earlier in his remarks, the Chairman House Committee on Youth Development, Hon. Yemi Adaramodu tasked the federal government on activities and programs that will enhance the lives of the youths.

The lawmaker while noting that they want to see those things that could empower the youths included in 2022 budget, added that for Nigerian youths to be leaders of tomorrow there must be very deliberate action from the leadership of Nigeria especially the youth ministry.

Adaramodu said, "So for Nigerian youths to be leaders there must be very deliberate action from the leadership of Nigeria especially the youth ministry. It’s not going to be stereotype. It’s like sowing a seed in the lives of Nigerian youths.

“When you sow a seed, you expect that seed to germinate and grow into a big tree whereby fruits can grow. Over the years, the government of President Buhari, has created a lot of activities and programs, to enhance the lives of Nigerian youths.”

T H I S D AY • TUESDAY NOVEMBER 9, 2021

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T H I S D AY ˾ TUESDAY NOVEMBER 9, 2021

POLITICS

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

As Governors Take Over the PDP

Chuks Okocha reports that the outcome of the national convention of the Peoples Democratic Party shows that the governors of the party have a hold on its affairs

Tambuwal

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rom all the events that led to the build-up to the national convention of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), it is obvious the 13 governors - Rivers, Enugu, Delta, Akwa Ibom, Edo, Bayelsa, Abia, Benue, Oyo, Bauchi, Sokoto, Taraba, and Adamawa - as well as the Deputy Governor of Zamfara State, have taken full control of the main opposition party.

The governors dictated who got what in the party’s new National Working Committee (NWC) which was decided at the October 30 - 31 national convention at the Eagles Square, Abuja.

To demonstrate their keen interest in the issue of leadership of the party, all through the night of Oct 30 - 31, the governors stayed put inside the State House box of the arena to direct affairs.

They did not sleep as they continued to banter and exchange notes while giving instructions from time to time.

This was unlike before when governors after the opening ceremony would leave, then return to cast their votes and leave again before coming for the announcement of the results. This time they remained at the Eagles Square.

With their presence, they were able to sustain interest in the proceeding at the convention ground.

A commentator who observed the interest of the PDP governors indicated that “this time around, PDP governors are showing that they are dyed-in-the-wool politicians. With this corps of governors, it will be difficult for the 2023 elections to be blatantly rigged or manipulated against the opposition by the ruling party and its cohorts. These governors will defend their turf and the party’s votes”.

It is believed that the way the governors ensured that all the machinery necessary for organising the convention from the zoning committee, convention committee, and all-sub-committees were headed by the governors, showed that they are not ready to leave anything to chances.

The governors ensured their loyalists were nominated for the key posts and they achieved consensus for most of the posts where they are directly involved.

In the three cases which have to be decided by voting, deputy national chairman (south), national youth leader, and national auditor), the candidates on the unity list drawn by the governors still won.

Thus, Samuel Ortom of Benue provided the national chairman, Nyesom Wike of Rivers provided the national Secretary, Seyi Makinde of Oyo provided the national deputy chairman (south), Aminu Tambuwal provided the National

Makinde

Ortom

Organising Secretary.

The only non- serving governor who produced a high-ranking party official is former Senate President, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki whose candidate, Kamal Adeyemi Ajibade, SAN, is the National Legal Adviser. Ajibade is the first senior advocate to be elected into that office in the history of political party administration in the country.

The governors probably conceded the crucial position to Saraki who himself is a former governor and one-time chairman of the Nigerian Governors Forum because of the respect they have for him and the good relationship he maintains with all of them.

The implication of all these is that the PDP governors will most likely also decide how the presidential candidate of the party for the 2021 elections will emerge next year and who he will be.

The governors displayed cohesion, focus, unity, dedication, and camaraderie in the manner they execute the election of the new NWC of PDP. It is believed that they are doing this for a purpose. The ultimate end is to decide the presidential flagbearer.

From the interaction and body language of the governors, two options are likely to be considered by the governors. One is to make one of them the presidential candidate or to produce a candidate who though might not be a serving governor but must be in their age category or one of their peers. They sure want a candidate who they can relate with when he emerged as president and who will not feel too big or paternalistic in his disposition towards them.

An insider among the governors

showed that it is unlikely that PDP will produce a southern presidential candidate. The source said: “the Southern governors in the PDP are not looking like any of them will join the presidential race. The source said one of the southern governors may become the running mate to a northern candidate.

The options may then be Aminu Waziri Tambuwal when they go for a serving governor and Saraki, if they talk of one who is not a serving governor but is the peer to the governors and have a good relationship with them.

It now depends on the criteria the governors want to look for and how solid they want the ticket to be in 2023. However, before the decision time, a lot depends on how the Iyorchia Ayu-led NWC can manage the gains made by the opposition party in the build-up to 2023.

Meanwhile, barely a day after the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) concluded its National Convention for election of its National Working Committee (NWC), facts have emerged about how former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar and two former Senate Presidents, David Mark and Bukola Saraki declined an offer by governors of the PDP to ask an aspirant for the position of Deputy National Chairman (South), Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola to step down his ambition.

A source confided in THISDAY that on the day of the convention, governors of the party had approached the trio of Atiku, Saraki and Mark to impress it on Oyinlola to step down his ambition, and endorse the governors’ consensus candidate in Ambassador Taofeek Arapaja.

According to the source, the three leaders, all from the Northern bloc

The implication of all these is that the PDP governors will most likely also decide how the presidential candidate of the party for the 2021 elections will emerge next year and who he will be.

The governors displayed cohesion, focus, unity, dedication, and camaraderie in the manner they execute the election of the new NWC of PDP

Okowa

of the party declined the offer given to them by the governors on the ground that the issue at stake was of concern primarily to the Southwest and for which they would not want to be involved.

At the convention, the position of Deputy National Chairman (South) that was keenly contested between ,Ambassador Taofeek Arapaja, was declared winner after polling 2,004 votes at the party’s convention. Arapaja’s contender, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola, garnered 705 votes.

The source that spoke to Thisday at the intrigues at the convention, said, “It is true that the governors tried to activate the consensus option in the contest for the position of Deputy National Chairman (South). Three leaders were approached to impress on Oyinlola to step down. Atiku, Saraki and Mark to be precise. But the three of them initially declined the offer, saying that they will not want to get involved in a matter that concerns the Southwest.

“I guess that the governors gave them the assignment on the basis of their neutrality in the whole election and I presume that was also the reason why they didn’t want to take the governors’ request to Oyinlola. They didn’t want to compromise their neutrality.

“But eventually, they yielded to the governors and approached Oyinlola who was adamant on going to the election. At that point, there was nothing anyone could do about the situation,” the source said.

Oyinlola is a former governor of Osun state and a former Secretary of the main opposition party, while Arapaja who was the consensus candidate of the governors was a former deputy governor of Oyo State and was promoted chiefly by the Oyo State governor, Engr. Seyi Makinde.

When contacted, a media aide to Atiku, Paul Ibe said that he was not in a position to comment on what happened at the convention ground, but remarked that, “His Excellency Atiku Abubakar didn’t have any preferred candidate and it goes without saying that he is very comfortable with the successful outcome of the convention. No one believed that the PDP could pull such a successful convention and now that the new leadership has been elected, the party is stronger for it.

“It is a win-win outcome for every member of the party and it is only good that the party consolidates on the gains that it has recorded now and set machinery in motion to begin the process of rescuing Nigeria from the current ruins that the APC has made of the country.”

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T H I S D AY ˾ TUESDAY NOVEMBER 9, 2021

POLITICS

More Reactions Trail Attack on Goje

Nseobong Okon-Ekong writes that the rift created by misunderstanding between Governor Inuwa Yahaya of Gombe State and his predecessor, Senator Danjuma Goje has deppened

Gov. Inuwa Yahaya

Danjuma Goje

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ore reactions continue to follow the recent attack on the former governor of Gombe State, Senator Danjuma Goje, as a body known as Gombe New Frontiers has called on the people of the state and Nigerians in general to be dispassionate in passing judgement on the recent incident.

Goje, whose daughter, Dr. Hussaina Goje resigned as Commissioner of Environment and Forest Resources in protest from the cabinet of Governor Inuwa Yahaya.

The reported attack on Goje’s convoy has been attributed to a festering misunderstanding between Yahaya and Goje, but Gombe New Frontiers ascribed the attack to lawless elements who breached the peace. In a statement in Gombe yesterday and made available to the press, the body said the incident was a recurring effect of a “planned, sustained and orchestrated political maneuvering” to create confusion and give a semblance of division especially within the hierarchy of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state.

According to the Secretary, Mallam Isa Shehu, the former governor only acted out a scheme to blackmail Governor Inuwa Yahaya but the generality of the people in the state were not fooled because they know the genesis of political thuggery and lawless behaviour of those who caused the mayhem during the incident.

“All that happened on that day were sheer charade, concocted to give a misleading impression about Governor Inuwa Yahaya but we all know the aggressor. We all know how the incident was manipulated in order to attract undeserving sympathy. We all know the history of thuggery and political lawlessness and maneuvering in the state”.

Shehu contended that Gombe State has hitherto been known for peace and harmony, adding that the “new face of politics” was responsible for the breach of peace.

‘From telling the whole world that he won’t run for senate again to reneging on that statement and the resultant intermittent political assault and violence from one local government to the other, we have our convictions on who’s fueling the repeated ugly incidents.”

He assured the people that there was no division within the APC in the state as both leaders and members were in unison in appreciating the good work of the incumbent governor and hence his recent endorsement for a second term.

While sympathizing with families of the victims, he appealed to the former governor to allow the incumbent do his work without interference, which, he said, was behind the recurring violence in the state.

“This is obviously the evil of godfather-

ism, a negative phenomenon that invariably causes political bile and distasteful outcome all in attempt to control, distract and blackmail a successor. But Governor Inuwa Yahaya is expected to have a mind of his own in order to achieve on his mandate and contract with the good people of Gombe State. It’s true that both men cannot be the same in character and style of governance and that should be clear to all”, he stated.

The scribe urged the security agencies to thoroughly investigate the incident and ensure the perpetrators are punished.

Attack on Goje, Disrespectful In another reaction, the SardaunanGombe, Dr. Jamil Isyaku Gwamna has condemned the recent incident that happened in Gombe when thugs attempted to block Senator Muhammad Danjuma Goje entering into Gombe.

This is undeserving and highly disrespectful to a leader and a father whose influence has not only benefitted Gombe but Northeast and Nigeria as a whole, he said in a statement from his media aide, Mallam Ibrahim Shawai.

The attempted blockage by whoever organised such should be seen as a major set back on the ideals of what politics represents in Gombe state.

Gombe remains peace loving by all standards and this explains why everyone sees it as home and such must not be jeopardized on the altar of personal interest or unpopular politics.

We have been known to be well cultured politically in Gombe state and we must continue on that part by continually giving honour to whom honour is due.

We celebrate our heroes in Gombe, we don’t disrespect them, hence the attack which is alien to us must not be allowed to repeat itself especially in the interest of peace and development going into 2023.

Senator Goje has raised and mentored many as well as empowered a lot of persons who are very much relevant in the political architecture of the state today and as such must be given that salute as a political general.

Attempt to deny Senator Goje access to a state he so contributed to its development in an unmatchable manner is an act of ingratitude which Gombawa, home and abroad cannot be proud of.

Let’s embrace peace and stability as the way to go because we have no other state to call home except Gombe.

Gwamna, therefore, calls on security operatives to conduct thorough investigations to ascertain if the attack was sponsored or not and anyone found guilty must be dealt with in line with the provisions of the law.

Akpabio Throws Buhari Under the Bus In shocking volte-face that jolted the entire Niger Delta region last week, Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Godswill Akpabio, in what apparently amounted to blaming his boss, President Buhari, for the inexplicable delay in inaugurating the NDDC Board, announced boldly that “it’s not part of my job to constitute NDDC Board,” contradicting what he has publicly said in the past two years on the saddle as supervising Minister of NDDC, writes Nseobong Okon-Ekong

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ot knowing who to blame for the inexplicable continued delay in inaugurating the substantive board of NDDC after two months of President Buhari’s receipt of the forensic audit report, coupled with Mr. President’s earlier promise to inaugurate the Board on receipt of the audit report, embattled Senator Akpabio, last week distanced himself from the NDDC Board impasse, which he created in the first place when he wrote a memo to President Buhari in 2019 to suspend the inauguration of the Senate confirmed Board until the conclusion of the forensic audit.

In a shocking volte-face the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Godswill Akpabio, as reported in a national daily on November 2, 2021, under the headline “It’s not part of my job to constitute NDDC Board,” is now distancing himself from the continued delay in the inauguration of the Board of NDDC. In the above report, the Niger Delta Affairs Minister, Godswill Akpabio, who spoke through his Media Adviser, Jackson Udom said “he will not meddle in the issue

of the constitution of the Board of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC). He said it is not within his purview as the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs to do so.”

Senator Akpabio was reacting to the overwhelming and widespread agitations from youths, men and women, political and traditional leaders and civil society organisations, including the latest threat by the Wailing Women of Niger Delta (WWND), who threatened to march on the streets and headquarters of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) if after seven days, President Muhammadu Buhari refuses to inaugurate the substantive board of the commission. According to them, “we hold Senator Godswill Akpabio, the supervising minister of the Niger Delta Affairs, responsible for the grave degeneration and irregularities in the region and the NDDC.” The Minister’s futile attempt to exonerate himself from the inexplicable delay in inaugurating the NDDC Board,

is embarrassingly puerile because it contradicts what he has publicly said and done in the past two years on the saddle as supervising Minister of NDDC. Obviously aware of the fever pitch tension the inexplicable continued delay in inaugurating the substantive board of NDDC is causing in the region after two months of President Buhari’s receipt of the forensic audit report, coupled with Mr. President’s earlier promise to inaugurate the Board on receipt of the audit report, embattled Senator Akpabio, now attempts to distance himself from the NDDC Board impasse, which he created in the first place when he wrote a memo to President Buhari in 2019 to suspend the inauguration of the Senate confirmed Board until the conclusion of the forensic audit.

Senator Akpabio as supervising Minister of the NDDC, through an official memo in 2019 recommended to the President the suspension of the inauguration of the substantive Board, which President Buhari had appointed,

and which was confirmed by the Senate in November of 2019. The Minister instead in that same memo recommended to the President the running of NDDC with illegal interim management/sole administrator contraptions until the completion of the forensic audit.

Further checks on what the Minister has said in the past two years firmly contradict his lame claim that “It’s not part of my job to constitute NDDC Board.”

On January 6 this year, Senator Godswill Akpabio, had disclosed that a substantive board of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) will be inaugurated by April 2021 after the forensic audit of the commission.

Akpabio stated this in Abuja while receiving the interim report of the commission from the forensic auditors. Said he, “By April this year, when we are done with the forensic audit, we will inaugurate a board for the Commission.”

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

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FEATURES

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

Tackling Resurgent Racism through Identity Consciousness Chiemelie Ezeobi writes that the Centre for Black and African Arts and Civilisation recently held a symposium to discuss resurgent racism and the struggles of identity consciousness in the face of overwhelming globalisation

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ver the years, racism against the black people has been a reoccurring decimal in spite of all the achievements the black, Africans and peoples of African descent have recorded and attained in all facets of life.

It was as part of efforts to tackle this that the Centre for Black and African Arts and Civilisation (CBAAC), recently held a symposium on "Black and African Peoples: Resurgent Racism and the Challenges of Development in the 21st Century: Globalisation and the Upsurge in Identity Consciousness".

Held at the Testimony Place, Oniru, Lekki, Lagos, the discourse delved into reasons why Africans must be connected with their roots in the face of deep-rooted racism.

Moderated by Stephanie George, the panelists were Dr. Femi Owagbemi, Mr. Steve Harrison, Mrs. Debola Deji-Kurunmi, Mr. Christian Kolawole Love and Mrs. Olufisayo Bakare.

The speakers also proffered solutions to the teeming guests, as well as students from three secondary schools who were invited, a move deemed by many as most appropriate given that they are the future.

Racism against Black and African People For decades, Africa, which is touted as the cradle of human civilisation, has suffered and continue to suffer racism.

This is why no serious discourse on the historical development of Global Africa would be complete without a critical analysis of the subject matter of race and racism because of the grave consequences on its capacity for self-realisation.

While the dominant narrative is that racism is a phenomenon from which all races also suffer, for Africa and the Blacks, it's quite different and still lingers decades after.

This is because racism is a denial of human dignity because it directly impacts on an individual’s human rights, and in particular the right to equality. Racism often manifests in the form of hate, abuse and violence and often times result in the unfortunate loss of lives.

Furthermore, arising from the disappointing performance of independent African countries and the multilayered development challenges they continue to grapple with, the image of the Global African has suffered protracted misrepresentations and prejudices, segregation discrimination and criminalisation, as well as the variegated abuses associated with these; with the consequence that the African is afflicted with self-contempt, self-doubt and lack of self-esteem.

Some of the questions asked and solutions proffered were on why the global African is always the victim of malevolent racism and why identity consciousness helps in tackling this.

However, for all the guest speakers, one solution was sacrosanct, Africans must arise and tackle racism in order to foster peace, unity, progress and development in the continent and the world at large.

Role of CBAAC It was against this backdrop that CBAAC, as a Pan-African cultural organisation, decided to lend her voice against racism.

In her welcome address, the Director General of CBAAC, Hon. Oluwabunmi Ayobami Amao (FITP) said the choice of the theme was informed by the recent

Hon. Amao

upsurge in the cases of racism, adding that the issue of racism still remains a monster that must be fought.

She said" "The choice of this theme by our organisation is informed by the recent upsurge in the cases of racism and racial inequality across the globe, especially against Blacks and people of African descent.

"Racism is a denial of human dignity because it directly impacts on the full enjoyment of an individual’s human rights, and in particular the right to equality. Racism and racial inequality are pervasive actions that manifest in the form of hate, abuse and violence. " The recent Black Lives Matter campaign across the world sprang up and gained momentum as result of

the ill treatment being meted against black people, which often times result in the unfortunate loss of lives. We must all rise up and speak against the twin evil of racism and racial inequality. " It is against this backdrop that CBAAC as a Pan-African cultural organisation is lending her voice against the vices of Racism and Racial Inequality against Black people in the world.

"The issues of racism and racial inequality still remain a monster that must be fought. We must continue to fight against racism and discrimination by teaching respect and tolerance, by sharing the common history of all humanity.

"Human rights extends to every-

The issues of racism and racial inequality still remain a monster that must be fought. We must continue to fight against racism and discrimination by teaching respect and tolerance, by sharing the common history of all humanity

one, and we must work constantly to let everybody know that they have an obligation to work towards eliminating racism and racial inequality.

"Be that as it may, it must be mentioned that despite the racial discrimination against Blacks in America and the Western World, Black progress over the past half-century has been impressive with many of them rising above any form of prejudices to become great achievers.

"As a people, what is needed of us is to continue to be committed towards making the world a better place for all. " Let me state that the centre would continue to collaborate with allied institution to promote the interest of Black people all over the globe." this platform and opportunity to condemn in the strongest terms, recent surge in racism against Blacks and People of African descent across the globe, that tends to suggest the superiority of one race over another,” she added.

In a clarion call, Amao and the panelists charged all to stand and work against all forms of racism, prejudice, racial discrimination and to affirm the universal principles of human dignity, freedom, and equality.

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FEATURES

‘The Content’ Exhibition Returns with Eight Artists As art spaces reopen for business in spite of the lingering pandemic, the luxury store, Adam&Eve has unleashed the harmattan edition of The Content, a group exhibition tradition which started in June 2017. Yinka Olatunbosun reports

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he exhibition tagged ‘The Content’ returns today in Lagos after a brief hiatus.

Running till December 12 at Adam&Eve, GRA Ikeja, Lagos, the show features works by Wande George, Hamid Ibrahim, Segun Aiyesan, Clara Aden, Emeka Nwagbara and Elizabeth Ekpetorson alongside guest artists - master printmaker, Bruce Onobrakpeya and leading painter Lekan Onabanjo.

Again, a parade of diverse medium, styles and techniques awaits visitors.

"The gallery space created from ‘The Content’ exhibition has been making some modest sales in the last few years, even without organising formal art exhibitions," the CEO, Adam&Eve, Mrs Modupe Ogunlesi revealed in a recent press briefing.

In the same vein, Onabanjo who doubles as the show’s curator remarked that the exhibition-like the luxury store that houses it- still basks in its premium standard quality.

Other events at Adam & Eve during the exhibitions include Cooking Competition elimination series for Men, 6-7, November; Art, Wine and Music, Nov 7, while Sunday 28, November is the grand finale of ‘Men Who Cook’ alongside ‘A festival of Nine Lessons and Carols.’

For the artist Hamid Ibrahim, his works convey hidden messages and

coded emotions; tapping from issues of national interest and concern.

Segun Aiyesan, who turns 50 this year, is a self-taught minimalist artist whose style is an amalgam of cubism and minimalism with emphasis on design and effective use of space.

Clara Aden, an award-winning illustrator, has carved a niche for herself with constant retraining and themed international group exhibitions. Drawing is her passion which she has continually used as a social commentary.

Her recent body of works include a new series where she explores and manipulates materials from newsprint to other forms of mixed media to treat African women’s narratives.

Emeka Nwagbara, a contemporary artist who ventured into full-time studio practice in 2005 is inspired by everyday people and like Adenfemale subjects. With a recent show in California, USA, Nwagbara has spread his artistic wings to fly out to the world his expressionistic paintings.

The fast-growing painter of diverse expression, Elizabeth Ekpetorson draws upon her experiences, memories and her philosophy of life deploying human forms as muse. Not one to be labelled or caged by a title, her works amplify the need for selfacceptance.

Clarity

Artist Captures 'Her Present Realities' in a Solo Show Yinka Olatunbosun

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estled in an eco-friendly scenery in the heart of Victoria Island Lagos, the secluded lounge, Miliki was the venue for the latest body of works by Chinyere Akachukwu. In producing the acrylic paintings, the UK-trained Nigerian lawyer and self-taught artist had contemplated social-realities in Nigeria-a luxury she could afford during the lockdown. Afterwards, she decided to document the trends and events that shaped the year and beyond. And that was the genesis of the solo exhibition titled, “These Resent Times.’’ Curated by Hannah Oghene, the show which kicked off on October 17 amplifies the need to document history and educate people on social causes. Some of the themes highlighted in the various paintings include insecurity, emigration, social media culture as well as human rights violations.

Though called to the Nigerian bar about nine years ago, Akachukwu had been inclined towards artistic representation of her emotions and thoughts on canvas as a child. After acquiring a first degree in law from the University of Nottingham and a masters’ degree at the University of Birmingham, her parents had been apprehensive about her intense interest in the Arts. Eventually, she convinced them that she could balance her legal practice with her studio work.

For her, burying her talent in painting was not an option. Whilst studying for her masters, she began to create her own works.

“For me, it is really about constant self-education. I watch a lot of artrelated movies and videos about the techniques. I listen to podcasts about art and I visit galleries and I don’t want to be too influenced by other people’s ideas in a way that affects my originality. Sometimes,

Akachukwu

you may create a work that is based on that,’’ Akachukwu recounted as camera flashed

in her direction.

In her ‘Surviving These Resent Times’ series, she sought to

encourage all who are enduring this tough period occasioned by the Covid-19 pandemic and economic hardship in Nigeria.

“I am telling them that there are different ways of passing through these times. It is not going to last forever. Times change. And there is a series called, “It’s Hard Not To Look Back.” And another called “Everything Will Be Alright. And another one is called ‘I Can’t Kill Myself.’ When you are going through a difficult time, and you have tried everything that you can and there is nothing left for you to do, don’t dwell on it just do what you can and keep it moving. It is a buzz statement,’’ she explained.

The theme ‘These resent times’ is a hybrid of ‘These present times’ and ‘The Resentful Times.’ In ‘JapaGbapu Oso’, she interrogates the disillusionment that has given rise to emigration.

“Migration is not voluntary for many,’’ Akachukwu continued. “Some are unhappy to leave. But they had to leave to secure a better future elsewhere and be able to leave if they have to. If you are unhappy about something, I’d say don’t do it, right? But if don’t have a choice, then that means that things are very bad for you and that means you resent what you have to do.’’

Through ‘Panic Buying,’ she documents the mad rush that accompanied the announcement of the lockdown using a segmented painting of a typical scenario in a departmental store.

In order to commemorate the events of October 2020, she captured the peaceful protest march with the allure of bright colours.

“First of all, I am more about documentation of events as opposed to sending across a message.

We don’t have a lot of historical documentation. In ten to twenty years’ time, most of us may have forgotten it,’’ she said.

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T H I S D AY ˾ ͷ, 2021

Photo Editor Abiodun Ajala Email abiodun.ajala@thisdaylive.com

L-R: Chief Marketing Officer, OVH Energy Marketing, Mrs. Lilian Ikokwu; Chief Executive Officer, OVH Energy Marketing, Mr. Huub Stokman; Group Executive Director, Ventures and Business Development, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mr. Billy Okoye; and Group Executive Director, Downstream NNPC, Mr. Adetunji Adeyemi, at the Oil Trading and Logistics (OTL) Africa Downstream Week in Lagos...recently PHOTO: ETOP UKUTT

L-R: Minister of Works and Housing and Chairman, Board of Trustees (BoT) of Nigerian Institute of Medical Research, Mr. Babatunde Fashola; Governor of Ekiti State, Dr. Kayode Fayemi; and representative of BUA, Dr. Aliyu Idhong, during the launch of the foundation for Nigerian Institute of Medical Research in Lagos… recently

L-R: National Sales Manager, FMCL, Maruthi Prasad; Head of Marketing, Dabur, Mahbub Baset; Second Secretary Consular, Office of the High Commissioner of India, Ajay Kumar Sharma; Business Head, Hair Rejuvenation and Revitalisation Limited, Sanjay Kashyap; Finance and Commercial Head (West Africa), Sonu Agarwal; and Business Head (West Africa), Dabur, Venkat Reddy, during the Ayurveda Day celebration at the office of the High Commissioner of India in Lagos...recently PHOTO: KUNLE OGUNFUYI

All Progressives Congress (APC) New Agenda group from Bauchi State protesting against the Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu, at the APC national headquarters in Abuja...recently PHOTO: ENOCK REUBEN

L-R: Minister of State for Transportation, Senator Gbemisola Saraki; Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi; and Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Dr. Mogodolene Ajani, when they appeared before the Senate Committee on Transportation to defend their 2022 budget in Abuja…recently PHOTO: JULIUS ATOI

L-R: Deputy Head, Projects Department, Lagos State AIDS Control Agency (LSACA), Mr. Michael Essien; Head, Administration/Human Resource Department, LSACA, Mr. Femi Agbesanwa; Head of Projects Department, LSACA, Dr. Oladipupo Fisher; Chief Executive Officer, LSACA, Dr. Monsurat Adeleke; Director of Programmes, Association for Reproductive and Family Health (ARFH), Dr. Oke Olufemi; Head of Procurement Department, LSACA, Mr. Oluseye Adewale; and Senior Programme Manager, ARFH, Dr. Yemi Atibioke, during a courtesy visit and presentation of face masks to the agency Lagos Island office by ARFH in Lagos...recently PHOTO: ETOP UKUTT

L-R: Marketing Director, Foods, Unilever Nigeria, Bolanle Kehinde-Lawal; Permanent Secretary, Lagos State Ministry of Health, Dr. Segun Ogboye; Managing Director, Unilever West Africa, Carl Cruz; Human Resources Director, Unilever West Africa, Ola Ehinmoro; and Corporate Affairs and Sustainable Business Director, Unilever West Africa, Soromidayo George, at the ‘Return to Office Reopening’ for Unilever Nigeria in Lagos… recently

Former Minister of Communications, Adebayo Shittu (middle), addressing journalists after the Oyo State All Progressives Congress (APC) faction meeting in Abuja…recently PHOTO: ENOCK REUBEN

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TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 2021 • T H I S D AY

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Duty of Court after Retraction of Confessional Statement

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Invasion of Justice Odili’s Residence, NBA President Talks Tough

s Attack on Odili' cration se Residence: A De ry icia of Nigeria’s Jud

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QUOTABLES ‘‘The legal profession should indeed, ‘take the lead’ in all human affairs. However, the lead comes at a price. We cannot take the lead, when our courts issue ex-parte orders recklessly….when many litigants with the support of their Counsel, engage in forum shopping, file a case before a court that they know lacks jurisdiction, and the Judge proceeds to hear the case…..’ - Honourable Justice Ibrahim Tanko Muhammad CFR, Chief Justice of Nigeria ‘We also made very stringent provisions that if buildings should collapse under construction, we would have the power as Government, subject to due process, to forfeit those buildings, as a deterrent….All the processes are there, but are the actors ready to do what is necessary?’ - Babatunde Raji Fashola, SAN, Governor, Lagos State (2007-2015), Minister of Works & Housing, Federal Republic of Nigeria

Nigerian Judges Set to Use A.I. in Justice Delivery, with LawPavilion Page V

Green: 'Cybercrime Thrives Due to Lack of Proper Regulation' Page V

LAWYER

ONIKEPO BRAITHWAITE: EDITOR, JUDE IGBANOI: DEPUTY EDITOR, PETER TAIWO, STEVE AYA: REPORTERS

III THE ADVOCATE

T H I S D AY • TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 2021

Ikoyi Building Collapse: Picking the Pieces Introduction ive years ago, shortly after I became the Editor of this esteemed publication, on December 12, 2016 precisely, I wrote an Editorial titled "Issues in Building Collapse". I wrote this piece, as a result of the collapse of Reigners Bible Church, Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, a disaster in which the official death toll was about 50 people, the collapse of Lekki Gardens in March 2016 in which about 34 people were said to have died, and I also discussed extensively, the 2014 collapse of the Guest House of the Synagogue Church of All Nations (SCOAN) pastored by late T.B.Joshua, in which 116 people, including 84 South Africans died, and many more were injured.

Sadly, half a decade later, the third block in a development located at 44, Gerrard Road, Ikoyi, known as '360 Degrees' collapsed last Tuesday, leaving a reported 42 people or so dead (the number ascertained as of Sunday afternoon), including one Femi Osibona, the Proprietor of Fourscore Heights Ltd, the company that owns the said 360 Degrees development.

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Reasons for the Collapse The reasons for the collapse of 360 Degrees, like the others before it, even though a thorough investigation has not been done, are probably use of sub-standard, unsound materials, defective design, poor workmanship, corruption and criminal negligence. 360 Degrees seemed to have acted recklessly without reasonable caution; the duty of care required for erecting such a building that would house a large community, was not observed; and the lives of others were put at risk of injury and death, as it is obvious that there must have been serious structural failings, so much so that Prowess Engineering Ltd, the firm of Structural/Civil Engineering Consultants engaged to supervise the project, on February 20, 2020 wrote to Mr Osibona of Fourscore Heights Ltd (FHL) to withdraw from the project, reason being that they could not guarantee the integrity of the third building because they were not sure that it met the required concrete strength. Prowess stated categorically that they did not have the concrete cube test results for each stage of the construction of the building; and they refused to take responsibility for any construction errors.

Prowess Engineering being Structural Engineers, would have been responsible for certifying the suitability of all the materials used for the project, like the rods, beam, casting and so on.

On this project, Prowess had complained that it was unable to certify the casting used for the building.

Just like SCOAN, contrary to the Urban and Regional Planning Law of Lagos State, FHL is alleged to have illegally added additional floors outside what was granted on its building plan approval. In SCOAN's case, the Coroner also discovered that apart from unlawfully adding additional floors to the building, for instance, 750mm by 225mm beams were utilised in lieu of 900mm by 300mm. The columns of the building, were inadequately reinforced. In the case of 360 Degrees, apart from unlawfully adding additional floors, the concrete strength was put to question by the Project Consultants.

We are yet to discover whether the beams and the rods that were utilised for this project were sound, or whether the foundation of the building was even strong enough to hold the additional floors. The question is, where were the Lagos State Officials when all this was going on?

Criminal Offences Section 219 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State (CLLS) provides that anyone who unlawfully kills another is guilty of the felony of murder or manslaughter, depending on the circumstances of the case. So far, the felony of Involuntary Manslaughter contrary to Section 222 of the CLLS fits like a glove in the 360 Degrees disaster.

It provides thus: “A person who unlawfully kills another in circumstances which does not constitute murder, is guilty of manslaughter if he causes death (1) by an unlawful and dangerous act; or (2) with gross negligence or reckless disregard for human life”.

Section 220 of the CLLS shows that the dif-

ONIKEPO BRAITHWAITE onikepo.braithwaite@thisdaylive.com onikepob@yahoo.com Twitter: @TheAdvocate

The

Advocate “The reasons for the collapse of 360 Degrees, like the others before it……are probably use of sub-standard, unsound materials, defective design, poor workmanship, corruption and criminal negligence. 360 Degrees seemed to have acted recklessly without reasonable caution……” ference between murder and manslaughter, is the intention to kill and cause grievous bodily harm, that is, the ‘mens rea’. I asked myself why a person who puts up a substandard building with a faulty foundation, inadequate, inappropriate and shoddy materials, breaches the building code all in a bid to cut corners and make more money, knowing that the consequences of such acts could result in the collapse of such a structurally faulty building and result in death or grievous bodily harm, as has been the case in numerous other building collapses that we have seen in Nigeria and other countries, is only reckless and not malicious, and should not be guilty of murder. But, in these circumstances, the law clearly makes a distinction between the intention to pull a fast one for economic gain which then results in death or injury, and the clear intention to kill or commit grievous bodily harm, which results in death or injury.

In Egbirika v State 2014 4 N.W.L.R. Part 1398 Page 558 at 580, KekereEkun, JSC held that “Manslaughter is an unintentional killing of a human being. Such killing is not premeditated, but accidental in the sense that it was not intentional”.

Section 227 of the CLLS provides the punishment of life imprisonment, for any person who commits the offence of manslaughter. See the cases of Onah v State 1977 7 S.C.69 and Omini v State 1999 12 N.W.L.R. Part 630 Page 168 at 182 per Karibi-Whyte, JSC. In Udo v Queen S.C.33/1964;

1964 1 A.N.L.R. 21 the court defined Manslaughter as “An unlawful killing which does not constitute murder in accordance with Section 317 of the Criminal Code”. Also see the case of State v Njoku 2010;1 N.W.L.R. Part 1175 Page 243 at 266 per Saulawa, JCA (as he then was), where he stated inter alia that: “Invariably, the term ‘manslaughter’ denotes the unlawful killing of a human being without malice aforethought’.

And, while the withdrawal of Prowess from the project in 2020 may avail them of liability - obviously the previous works done on the other two buildings must be surreptitiously scrutinised, as well as the parts of the third building which Prowess was involved in before they withdrew; the said charge of Involuntary Manslaughter can be maintained against other principal officers of FHL (Femi Osibona’s corpse is said to have been found and identified - he will be facing charges in the ultimate court and the judgement of God), the Contractor and other members of the project team who were part of this building scam.

The officials of the Lagos State Ministry of Physical Planning and the other agencies who turned a blind eye to FHL'S unlawful activities, should also be held liable, jointly and severally for Involuntary Manslaughter, and under Section 250 of the CLLS, for unlawfully doing acts or omission to do acts which is their duty, with such acts or omissions thereby causing harm to others, making them guilty of a misdemeanour that attracts imprisonment

The collapsed 360 Degrees Building on Gerrard Road, Ikoyi

for two years upon conviction. Where were the Lagos State officials, who should have been carrying out periodic inspections of the 360 Degrees project, especially after it had been unsealed consequent upon previous violations?

It is obvious that a they had a duty to keep an extra eye on a project that had already shown a blatant disregard for keeping to construction rules and best practices; that had displayed a penchant for cutting corners with gusto and aplomb. This is where we see the issue of corruption, play a star role.

Manslaughter and the failure to perform a legal duty, are very present in the 360 Degrees Disaster. Clearly, FHL, the Lagos State Officials and those who took part in the conspiracy to deliver a substandard structure disguised as a sound one, had a legal duty to all the victims who were killed and injured as a result of this mishap which they failed to perform; and this failure was criminally negligent and caused the death of those who lost their lives on the 360 Degrees site last Tuesday (and injury).

Conclusion To tell the truth, I wish an exception can be made in cases of building collapse, where the culprits are found to have knowingly cut corners which results in death. Even though such culprits did not wake up and say ‘I want to kill the occupants of a building or the construction workers/visitors on such a substandard site’, their acts and omissions say otherwise, as building collapse, injury and death are the likely outcomes of their recklessness!

As usual, the Nigerian building codes and regulations are very much in existence; enforcement of compliance is the problem. Government agencies in charge of construction, should step up their game in this regard. Zero tolerance for cutting corners, must be adopted and implemented, and immediate consequences meted out to officials who are found to be lacking and complicit in these unwholesome practices.

After the building collapse of 360 Degrees, a former importer of iron rods, in a discussion about the unfortunate incident, informed a few of us that since the ban on importation of iron rods, as if it was not bad enough that people are prone to using the wrong size of iron rods to cut costs, many of the iron rods in the Nigerian market cannot pass the integrity test.

He encouraged us to purchase a few iron rods and have them tested, to confirm his allegation. A video of the Governor of Borno State inspecting a block making establishment, trended on social media. Their cement blocks were of such poor quality that when they thrown on the ground without much force, they crumbled into sand!

These are the type of poor quality materials, which cause building collapse. The Building Inspection Agencies, should undertake regular spot inspections of establishments that deal in building materials. They can work in conjunction with the Local Governments, to ascertain the locations of building materials suppliers and the various construction sites in each area. In Lagos for instance, the laboratory at the University of Lagos was the one of choice for the certification of rods, beams, concrete strength etc. It’s not there for decoration; Builders must be constrained to make use of such establishments, to certify their building materials as required by law.

For those who have already purchased some of the 360 Degrees apartments and may desire a refund because they lack confidence in the integrity of the building, their fears are justified and should be favourably considered without delay. I hope all those responsible for this disaster, will be brought to book swiftly, to serve as a deterrent to others. To the best of my knowledge, late Pastor Joshua was not convicted of any crime for the role SCOAN played in the death of 116 people, up until his death.

Again, I wonder about the Panel of Inquiry set up by Lagos State. The State has been heavily indicted in this fiasco. How independent can a Panel set up by one of the accused persons be? Nigerians hope that this will not end up being another cover up, to protect the guilty.

Why can’t an international body of experts be engaged, instead? After all, the principle of “nemo judex in causa sua”, is trite as it is against the rules of natural justice, to be a Judge in a case in which you have a vested interest.

IV LAW REPORT

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 2021 • T H I S D AY

Duty of Court after Retraction of Confessional Statement Facts The Appellant herein and one Issa Bio, were arraigned before the High Court of Ogun State, Ayetoro Judicial Division, on a two-count Charge of conspiracy to commit armed robbery, and armed robbery contrary to Sections 6(a) and 1(2)(a) of the Robbery and Firearms (Special Provisions) Act, CAP R.11 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004 respectively. The case of the Respondent as Prosecution at the trial court was that, on the 5th of March, 2010, at about 12:30am, at the cattle ranch at Joga Ayetoro, three people came to attack PW1. They tied him and his wife up, and raped his daughter. They also stole the sum of N22,000 from them. One of the children of PW1, who was a bit far from the scene, heard the noise and ran to tell PW2, who then alerted the Police. The robbers were pursued and arrested, one of whom was the Appellant. Their extra- judicial statements were tendered and admitted in evidence as Exhibits CC, DD, EE, and FF. During the trial, the Appellant raised an objection regarding the admissibility of Exhibit CC, on the ground that it was not voluntarily made.

The lower court conducted a trial-within-trial and found that the Confessional Statement was voluntarily made, and proceeded to admit same as Exhibit CC. The learned trial Judge found the Appellant and his Co-Defendants, guilty of the offences with which they were charged. The appeal to the Court of Appeal was equally not successful. The Appellant further appealed to the Supreme Court.

Hon. Helen Moronkeji Ogunwumiju, JSC In the Supreme Court of Nigeria Holden at Abuja On Friday, the 7th day of May, 2021 Before Their Lordships

Musa Dattijo Muhammed Chima Centus Nweze Helen Moronkeji Ogunwumiju Abdu Aboki Tijjani Abubakar Justices, Supreme Court

Issue for Determination “Whether from the entirety of materials and evidence available on record, the lower court was right in upholding the conviction of the Appellant by the trial court.”

Arguments Submitting on the sole issue, counsel for the Appellant argued that PW1’s testimony under cross-examination contradicted his evidencein-chief, where he stated that he recognised the Appellant as one of his attackers. Counsel submitted that material contradictions can be drawn from the testimonies of PW2 and PW3, and it is with regard to the number of people arrested at the scene of the incident and on the way from the victim’s residence.

Counsel relied on UDOSEN v THE STATE (20007) 1 SCNJ 482. It was submitted further that, the Respondent failed to prove the elements necessary to sustain the commission of the offence of conspiracy to commit armed robbery and armed robbery. Counsel argued that PW1 in his account clearly stated that he did not have the opportunity to note the facial features of his attackers, he never had previous contact with them before the alleged incident and visibility at the time of the incident was very poor. Counsel submitted that the evidence of PW1 supports the fact that, the Prosecution failed to meet the standard of proof required to sustain a conviction in this case. He relied on ANEKWE v STATE (2014) 10 NWLR (Pt. 1415). It was also his submission that the Appellant was not arrested at the scene of the crime, neither was his identity as one of the perpetrators established by the Prosecution. Counsel urged the court to resolve this issue in favour of the Appellant, and to further hold that that the Respondent did not lead cogent evidence to connect the Appellant to the commission of the crime, especially because the money stolen was not recovered from the Appellant who was arrested immediately after the offence was committed. Regarding the failure of the Prosecution to tender the weapon used in the alleged commission of the crime, counsel submitted that where the Prosecution led

SC. 476/2017 Between Mosunmola Kolawole The State

And

Appellant Respondent

“Where a Confessional Statement has been retracted, the court is bound to apply the probability test in R v SKYES (1913) 8 CAR 223. This is for a retracLAGF GJ <=FA9D G> 9 GF>=KKAGF9D L9L=E=FL <G=K FGL 9̓=;L ALK 9<EAKKA:ADALQ

(Lead Judgement delivered by Hon. Helen Moronkeji Ogunwumiju, JSC)

evidence that weapons were recovered from the Defendants/Accused persons, failure to tender the weapons found on the Accused person raises doubt in the Prosecution’s case. Counsel argued that reasons must be given why the weapons were not tendered in evidence, and failure to so do, the court should invoke the provisions of Section 167(d) of the Evidence Act 2011 against the Prosecution.

In response to the submission above, learned counsel for the Respondent argued that the witnesses gave clear and compelling evidence regarding the identity of the Appellant, as one of the robbers caught running away from the scene of the crime. Counsel argued that there was no material contradiction on the issue of the identity of the Appellant, since he was practically caught at the scene of the crime and confessed to the crime, even though he retracted the confession. He urged the court, not to disturb the concurrent findings of the two lower courts.

Counsel argued further on behalf of the Respondent that the Appellant made a mountain out of a molehill, on what he

“…..where a Confessional Statement has been retracted, the court is bound to apply the probability test in R v SKYES…..and approved in a plethora of authorities by the Supreme Court…..as follows: (i) Is there anything outside the confession to show that it is true; (ii) Is it corroborated……”

considered contradictions in the evidence of the Respondent at the trial court. He urged the court to adopt the reasoning in MUSA v THE STATE (2009) 15 NWLR (Pt. 1165) wherein the court held that, not all minor contradictions should vitiate the case of the Prosecution. Counsel submitted further that the evidence of PW1, PW2 and PW3, successfully linked the Appellant and his Co-Defendants at the trial court to the crime. Specifically, the testimonies of PW2 and PW3 resonated with and corroborated Exhibits CC & EE, wherein the Appellant confessed to having committed the crimes. He argued that PW2 in his evidence stated that, he knew the persons in the vehicle were the ones who robbed PW1 because they met the vehicle on the only road that led to the Gaa where PW1 was robbed.

The Cows of PW1 were in the vehicle, according to the testimonies of PW2 and PW3. The Appellant admitted in his statement, that they came for the robbery with cutlasses. Counsel also argued that the evidence of PW1, PW2 and PW3 were not challenged, neither were they impugned under cross-examination by counsel for the Appellant, and that the trial High Court was bound to accept same, and act on the evidence which corroborated the Confessional Statement of the Appellant. Counsel submitted that the charge of armed robbery was proved beyond reasonable doubt by the Prosecution.

Court’s Judgement and Rationale In deciding the sole issue, the Supreme Court held that, a careful perusal of the testimony of PW1 would readily reveal

that counsel for the Appellant made an attempt to interpret what PW1 never said or meant. From the evidence on record, the Appellant and the other Defendants were arrested on the only way that led to the Gaa shortly after the armed robbery, with the cows which were stolen from PW1. It stands to reason therefore, that PW1 later knew the identity of those who came to rob him. Hence, he was factually correct, and not self-contradictory in his testimony. The Apex Court also held that where a Confessional Statement has been retracted, the court is bound to apply the probability test in R v SKYES (1913) 8 CAR 233 and approved in a plethora of authorities by the Supreme Court such as KARIMU SUNDAY v THE STATE (2017) LPELR-42259 (SC), as follows: (i) Is there anything outside the confession to show that it is true; (ii) Is it corroborated; (iii) Are the relevant statements made in it, of facts, true, as far as they can be tested; (iv) Was the prisoner one who had the opportunity of committing the murder; (v) Is his confession possible, is it consistent with other facts which have been ascertained and have been proved. The court held that in this appeal, the Confessional Statement of the Appellant was amply corroborated by the evidence of the Prosecution witnesses.

The court held further that, in spite of the fact that Exhibit CC and EE are sufficient in law to justify the conviction of the Appellant for the offences of Conspiracy to commit Robbery and Armed Robbery, there are other pieces of evidence on record as adduced at the trial of the Appellant which did not only support Exhibit CC, but justified the conviction of the Appellant. Specifically, the testimonies of PW2 and PW3, that the Appellant and his gang were arrested in the vehicle that they used in conveying the cows they robbed PW1 of, which corroborated Exhibits CC & EE. The Appellant admitted in his statement that they came for the robbery with cutlasses, and according to Section 11(1), the interpretation section of the Robbery and Firearms Act defines “Weapon” to include Cutlass etc.

Regarding the issue about contradictions in the evidence of the Prosecution witnesses and how they should be resolved, the court held that there were no material contradictions in the evidence of the PW1, PW2 and PW3, to warrant interference with the concurrent findings of fact of the trial court and the Court of Appeal. The court stated further that the witnesses gave clear and compelling evidence, as regard the Appellant being one of the members of the robbery gang, in addition to the Appellant’s own Confessional Statement.

There can be no serious issues about identity of the offenders, as the Appellant and his cohorts were caught on the spot. The court, relying on UKPABI v STATE (2004) 11 NWLR (Pt. 884) 884, held that where a Defendant is caught on the spot, the question of identification is a non-issue.

Their Lordships held that the burden of proving the guilt of a Defendant/Accused person for the offences he is charged with beyond reasonable doubt, is discharged when the Prosecution proves by evidence the ingredients or elements of the offences charged. The court, in this instance, was persuaded that the Prosecution discharged the burden of proof beyond reasonable doubt.

The Apex Court declined the invitation to disturb the concurrent findings of fact by the two lower courts, as they were not shown to be perverse or to have led to a gross miscarriage of justice. The court relied on CHIJIOKE ORLU v CHIEF MPAKABOARI AGOGO-ABITE (2010) 1 SCJN 32.

Appeal Dismissed.

Representation Aderemi Oguntoye with B.B. Lawal and A.H. Arhere for the Appellant.

Olatunde Abegunde for the Respondent.

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

V NEWS

T H I S D AY • TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 2021

L-R: Charles Mokwenye, Dr. Monday Ubani, NBA President, MD/CEO, LawPavilion, Ope Olugasa Olumide Akpata, Dr. Rapulu Mduka, and Uchenna Nwadialo

L-R: Director, Executive Education, LBS, Victor Banjo; International Consultant, AGA Africa, John Edozie; Prof Olawale Ajai; Director, AGA, Marcus Green; Head, Cybercrime Unit, EFCC Lagos, Dein Whyte and Nigeria Coordinator, AGA Africa, Mrs Ebele Enedah

Invasion of Justice Odili’s Residence, NBA President Talks Tough President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Mr Olumide Akpata, has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to take immediate steps to ensure that those behind the invasion of Hon. Justice Mary Peter-Odili’s residence in Abuja be unravelled and brought to book without delay.

At a media parley last Thursday, Akpata intimated the press that, with the approval of the National Executive Committee (NEC), the NBA has set up a high-powered Committee headed by Dr Monday Ubani, to investigate the circumstances surrounding the attack on Justice Odili, and report to the NBA on a weekly basis.

He said the NBA would ensure that all those behind the embarrassing incident are unveiled and made to face the stiff sanctions of the Association, including legal action.

Akpata said ‘As you all know, it is exactly a week to the day since we were all stunned with the news of the raid on the premises of My Lord, Peter-Odili, JSC, by a team comprised of at least two agencies of the Federal Government of Nigeria. It is also public knowledge that this incident, as egregious as it sounds and truly is, is not the first under this administration.

‘In 2016, there was also a Gestapo-like invasion of the residences of some Justices of the Supreme Court and other superior court Justices and Judges, by the same security agents of the Executive arm of Government. Over four years later, the rationale for that raid has never been fully explained or indeed, justified. This latest incident has not been different.

‘Instead, what has followed has been an orgy of denials by the highest authorities in the land. Firstly, the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Abdulrasheed Bawa on the same night of the raid denied authorising

the raid, or the involvement of the EFCC in the raid. The next day, the Honourable AttorneyGeneral of the Federation under whose office the team that purportedly carried out the raid is allegedly domiciled, also denounced the team.’

The NBA-NEC held an emergency meeting on Monday, 2nd November, 2021 and took very far-reaching decisions in respect of the issue at hand.

Akpata condemned the discordant voices emanating from groups within the Association, in respect of the same issue.

He said ‘Apart from the Annual General Meeting of the NBA which exercises the supreme authority of the Association, the NBA-NEC is the highest decision-making body in the Association, and when the NBA has clearly articulated a position on any matter, especially a serious one such as the invasion of the premises of a Supreme Court Justice, other groups within the Association, whether they be a body of senior or junior advocates, must rein themselves in and should refrain from muddying the waters by embarking on needless road-shows and issuing statements that only serve to portray our Association, and indeed, our approach to the issue at hand, as uncoordinated and ultimately ineffective’.

‘It is for this and other reasons that I have appointed the Chairman of the NBA Section on Public Interest and Development Law (NBA-SPIDEL), Dr Monday Ubani, to serve as the NBA's Special Investigator to inter alia, unmask those behind the attack on Justice Odili’s home, and to ensure that these individuals are made to face the law.

‘It is for this reason that we are calling on President Muhammadu Buhari, to immediately set up an independent Panel of Inquiry to fish out

all those that are behind this dastardly act.’

‘It is to be noted that the NBA will also call out and discipline any of our members,

who is found to have been part of this despicable attempt to ridicule the Judiciary.

‘The NBA-NEC also decided to beam its searchlight on the

Magistrate, Emmanuel A. Iyanna who issued the said search warrant. For the record, we are not satisfied with the volte-face by His Worship,

and we believe that it is not enough for His Worship to turn around and suo motu, revoke the search warrant in the middle of the night.

Nigerian Judges Set to Use A.I. in Justice Delivery, with LawPavilion As Judges all over the country once again look forward to the Biennial Judges Conference set to hold in Abuja, LawPavilion Business Solutions, Africa's leading provider of legal technologies, will be showcasing its new Artificial Intelligence (A.I.) System geared towards Smart Justice Delivery.

According to the company’s MD/CEO, Ope Olugasa, these solutions and new features have been specially designed for Judges, using A.I. and emerging technologies, in what the company termed ‘Smart Justice Delivery, Using A.I.’.

While speaking to the Press last Saturday, Olugasa shared insights into how using A.I.,

Nigerian Judges can now easily review and evaluate Counsel’s Written Addresses and submissions in seconds.

The new solution, A.I. Document Review, is also capable of identifying a Judge’s previous judgements on similar issues, making adjudication easier and faster, without Judges having to always reinvent the wheel in deciding each matter before them. Also, in the solution is an enhanced Appellate Feedback System for Judges (AFSJ), which enables High Court Judges to know how their judgements have fared at the appellate courts. Olugasa also spoke extensively on the introduction of Personalised

Law Reporting for High Court Judges, using A.I. Modelling and Profiling. He emphasised that, the solution would enable Judges to preserve their legacies on the Bench through technology.

Olugasa went on to speak about how the company’s deep understanding of Nigeria’s infrastructural peculiarities, led them to develop a WhatsApp enabled E-Filing solution that allows Counsel to file their processes in court, even with minimal internet connectivity using WhatsApp. According to him, “speedy filing equals swift access to justice”. He invited the Judiciary to answer the call for an accelerated access

to justice in Nigeria, through the LawPavilion E-Registry integrated with E-Filing and E-Service on WhatsApp. He described the solution as Nigeria’s first virtual end-toend E-Registry System with WhatsApp enabled E-Filing, E-Payment and E-Service.

In his statement, he stated that the solutions are made by Nigerians for Nigerians, to help solve some of the challenges facing the country’s justice sector. With these solutions, Olugasa concluded, LawPavilion underscores its undying passion for and commitment to accelerating access to justice through technology in Nigeria and across Africa.

Green: 'Cybercrime Thrives Due to Lack of Proper Regulation' Director of the Attorney General Alliance (AGA) Africa, Mr Marcus Green, has said that cybercrimes thrive on the continent, partly due to lack of proper regulation.

He spoke at a webinar in Lagos on “Digital Currencies and Crypto Derivatives: Banking, Regulatory and Cybersecurity”.

It was organised in collaboration with the Lagos Business School (LBS), the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Fintech Association of Nigeria (FinTechNGR).

Green, in his opening remarks, said digital currencies and crypto derivatives, are part of the emerging currencies and new payment methods that are gaining acceptance in recent times.

“The Covid-19 pandemic, has escalated the use of these currencies”, he said.

He noted that whereas, digital currencies are centralised, meaning that transactions within the network is regulated in a centralised location like a bank, cryptocurrencies and crypto derivatives are mostly decentralised, and are not formally governed or regulated.

“Many African countries and countries in the world lack proper regulatory frameworks for cryptocurrencies and crypto derivatives, hence, building an ideal ecosystem for cybercrimes to thrive”, he said.

Green pointed out that in Nigeria, for instance, there is no specific regulation that has declared cryptocurrency trading illegal or criminalised it, although the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) prohibited transactions on cryptocurrencies in the banking sector.

He said the webinar was

organised to provide an ideal platform to expose participants to the intrinsic banking, regulatory and cybersecurity issues in the both digital currency and crypto-assets/derivatives.

The moderator at the program, Mrs. Ebele Eneda said ‘Attorney General Alliance Africa collaborates with government, non-governmental, private sector and civil society to provide legal training, strategic advisory programmes and strengthen the international rule of law specific to each country’s needs’.

Green further said ‘We bring subject-matter experts from the US and African countries to train Investigators, Prosecutors, Judges, Magistrates and other law enforcement officers on the investigation and prosecution of transnational crimes such as human trafficking, money laundering, cyber-crime, coun-

terfeit drugs, wildlife trafficking, gender-based violence and other cross border criminal activities’.

The facilitators included General Counsel for AGA, David C. Blake; founder of the Cyber Security Collective Africahackon, Dr Bright Gameli Mawudor; a certified digital finance practitioner (CDFP), Kombe Kaponda; Adedayo Adebajo of FinTech NGR; Prof. Olawale Ajai of the LBS; Executive Director, Information Technology and Operations at Access Bank Plc, Ade Bajomo, and Head of the Cybercrime Unit at the EFCC in Lagos, Whyte Iyowuna Dein.

Dein, who represented the EFCC Chairman, Abdulrasheed Bawa, also believes that the absence of regulation or the operation of cryptocurrency, is one of the major challenges in the investigation of crime around it.

A2J Urges NJC to Cancel Judicial Appointment Exercise in Abia over Alleged Corruption The Judicial recruitment exercise embarked upon by the Abia State Judicial Service Commission has, according to recent news reports, been compromised by allegations of corruption. The reports allege that that some members of the Abia State JSC and staff of the State Ministry of Justice, demand huge bribes from persons ap-

plying for judicial vacancies in the State’s High Court, in order to recommend them for the positions. At present, the State JSC has reportedly shortlisted 15 candidates out of 182 who applied for 10 vacant positions.

The list is reported to have been forwarded to the NJC. The reports allege that a “syndicate” of the State JSC

alongside officials of the Abia State Ministry of Justice, approached the candidates demanding a bribe of N15 million from them, to facilitate the inclusion of their names in the NJC shortlist.

It is also reported that a female Magistrate, who participated in the examination, mortgaged her family house to raise the

money demanded by agents of the Abia State JSC, and thereafter collapsed and died on learning that the bribe was not a guarantee for a successful application.

Given the facts above, Joseph Otteh, the Convener of Access to Justice, urged the NJC to immediately: 1. Cancel the process as-

sociated with the selection of candidates for appointment as High Court Judges undertaken by the Abia State Judicial Service Commission, given the scandalous allegations of corruption levelled against the Commission; 2. Empanel a Committee, to thoroughly and promptly investigate the allegations of

corruption surrounding the selection exercise; 3. Demand the removal and prosecution of any members of the Abia State JSC, where the Committee substantiates the allegations of extortion by them; 4. Ensure that any subsequent judicial appointment exercises in Abia State, are closely monitored and supervised.

VI COVER

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 2021 • T H I S D AY

L-

Attack on Odili's Residence: A Desecration of Nigeria’s Judiciary When the homes of judicial officers were massively invaded by the DSS in October 2016, the nation was aghast, and Nigerians condemned the invidious act unreservedly. Many intoned ‘Never Again!’ And, little did anyone imagine that such an ugly incident would occur again. However, on Friday, October 29, 2021, at the residence of Honourable Justice Mary Ukaego Peter-Odili, the second highest ranking Justice of the Supreme Court of Nigeria, there was a nightmarish encounter with members of various security agencies. They invaded her residence at No. 7 Imo Rivers Street, Abuja under the cover of darkness. The operation which was carried out on the strength of a dubious Search Warrant issued by a Chief Magistrate, is now the subject of controversy, as the Magistrate claims that he was misled into issuing the warrant, and the Attorney-General of the Federation and the heads of the other agencies involved in this unfortunate incident, have denied that they participated in it. Would any security agency, without the support of someone or people in high positions of authority, have the audacity to launch such an attack on the residence of the No. 2 Judicial Officer in Nigeria? Femi Falana, SAN, Aikhunegbe Anthony Malik, SAN, Sylvester Udemezue and Joseph Otteh go into the heart of the issues, and the unsavoury implications of the incident on Nigeria’s fledging democracy in this Discourse

‘There is More to the Second Attack on Justice Odili than Meets the Eye’ Femi Falana, SAN Introduction

O

n February 21, 2020, a gang of armed thugs invaded the residence of Justice Mary Peter-Odili at Abuja, and subjected her to unwarranted intimidation. The protesters claimed that they were dissatisfied with her judgement, in an appeal that was decided by a full panel of Seven Justices of the Supreme Court of Nigeria.

At the material time, both the All Progressive Congress and the People's Democratic Party, pointed accusing fingers at each other for the unwarranted intrusion. But, the Police and other security agencies, ignored calls for the investigation and prosecution of the criminal suspects who invaded the residence of the Justice.

The October 29, 2021 Episode Since the armed thugs were treated like sacred cows last year, Honourable Justice Mary Peter-Odili was subjected to further intimidation in the same house, by a combined team of Police and Military personnel on October 29, 2021. Based on an affidavit deposed to by a senior Police officer, CSP Lawrence Ajodo, the Joint Panel Recovery of the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation applied to

a Chief Magistrate in Abuja, seeking a search warrant to search Mrs Justice Peter-Odili's house. The Chief Magistrate, Emmanuel Iyanna, subsequently approved the search warrant. Consequently, a combined team of Military and Police personnel invaded the house and carried out a search which lasted about five hours. At the end of the search, nothing incriminating was found in the house. Hence, she was not arrested and taken to a detention facility by the goons.

Based on the huge embarrassment caused by the invasion, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has denied involvement in the illegal search of the residence of Justice Peter-Odili. The State Security Service (SSS) has stated that its officers were not involved, in the execution of the search warrant. The Inspector-General of Police has said that the Nigeria Police Force did not authorise the Police personnel who took part in the raid, while the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), has denied involvement in the issuance of the search warrant.

Questionable and Baseless Search Warrant However, the denial of the AGF has been questioned by the Magistrate who issued the controversial search warrant. Indeed, when it dawned on the Magistrate that he had been used and misled to issue the search warrant, he decided, rather belatedly, to wash his hands off like Pontius Pilate. According to him, “Upon misrepresentation to this honourable court that led to the issuance of

“No doubt, the attack is meant to intimidate the Judiciary, as Nigerian Judges are expected to blow muted trumpets under the Buhari administration”

a search warrant in favour of Joint Recovery Panel, Ministry of Justice, against House 9, Imo Street, Maitama, Abuja, dated October 29, 2021. “In view of the above fact, the said search warrant is hereby revoked”.

Having regard to the facts and circumstances of the episode, it is indisputable that the search warrant was anchored on illegality.

First, the man who applied for the search warrant alleged that certain illegal activities were going on at large, in the entire city of Abuja in the Federal Capital Territory!

Second, the application was argued by a Lawyer from the Joint Recovery Panel, a body that is unknown to law. Not a few people have said that it is part of a grand design, to prevent Justice Peter-Odili from becoming the Chief Justice of Nigeria after the tenure of Justice Tanko Muhammad.

This is off the track as her Ladyship is is due to retire next year upon attaining the compulsory retirement age of 70 years, while the Honourable Chief Justice Tanko Muhammad is due to retire in 2023.

In a very strong language, the Supreme Court Management condemned the raid and said that it was carried out “in a Gestapo manner that unfortunately depicted a gory picture of war by some armed persons suspected to be security operatives representing different agencies of Government, who seemed to have come to kill and maim their target under the guise of undertaking a search whose warrant was questionable and baseless”. In a statement by its Director, Press and Information, Festus Akande, the Apex Court said that "We are deeply saddened and taken aback by this uncivilised and shameful show of primitive force on an innocent judicial officer that has so far, spent several years of her productive life serving the country she calls her own”.

Rising to the Occasion Apart from condemning the invasion, the Body of Senior Advocates of Nigeria (BOSAN) was reported to have set up a three-member Committee to probe the incident. After the meeting with the AGF, Mr Abubakar Malami, SAN over the illegal search of the residence

of the Honourable Justice Mary Peter-Odili, the Committee should interview the victim of the illegal raid, the Honourable Justice Peter-Odili, the Lawyers who applied for the search warrant, the Magistrate who issued the search warrant, as well as the heads of the Police and Military personnel who executed the search warrant.

Furthermore, notwithstanding that the Magistrate has, suo motu, revoked the search warrant, the Committee should interrogate him over his claim that he was misled to issue the search warrant by the Ministry of Justice.

Unlike in the recent past, the legal profession has risen to the occasion with determination to end the unwarranted intimidation of Nigerian Judges. The National Judicial Council (NJC) alleged that those who invaded Mrs Justice Peter-Odili's house, wanted to eliminate her.

The President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Mr Olumide Akpata, summoned a virtual meeting of the National Executive Committee of the NBA last week. The NEC members who attended the meeting, unanimously resolved to report the Lawyers involved in the invasion of Mrs Justice Peter-Odili’s residence to the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee and Legal Practitioners Privileges Committee. On its own part, the three-member BOSAN Committee headed

by Asiwaju Adegboyega Awomolo, is to conduct an inquiry into the incident.

Apparently embarrassed by the action of the BOSAN, the President of the NBA reacted angrily and insisted that, only the NBA is competent to speak for the legal profession in Nigeria. However, the NBA has directed the Chairman of its Public Interest Section, Mr Monday Ubani, to conduct an inquiry into the invasion of Mrs Justice PeterOdili's house. Since both the BOSAN and NBA are desirous to ensure that the culprits are brought to book, they should refrain from working at cross purposes. In view of the announcement of the Inspector-General of Police, Mr Alkali Baba, that the suspects have been identified and arrested, the NBA should task the BOSAN with the responsibility of prosecuting all the persons who subjected the Honourable Justice Mary Peter-Odili to mental and psychological torture in contravention of Section 2 of the Anti Torture Act, 2017.

VII

T H I S D AY • TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 2021

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Attack on Odili's Residence: A Desecration of Nigeria’s Judiciary Conclusion No doubt, the attack is meant to intimidate the Judiciary, as Nigerian Judges are expected to blow muted trumpets under the Buhari administration.

After all, members of the legal profession have been cautioned, to realise that national security takes precedence over the rule of law. But, since the intimidation of Mrs Justice Peter-Odili cannot be justified, the Federal Government should distance itself from the attack. In Ransome-Kuti v AttorneyGeneral of the Federation (1985) 1 NWLR (Pt 6) 124, Kayode Eso JSC said that the burning of the house of the Appellants by the so-called "unknown soldier" was perpetrated by a detachment of the Nigerian Army. In the instant case, since the search warrant did not cover Justice Peter-Odili's house, there was no justification whatsoever for infringement of her fundamental right to privacy.

To that extent, the Federal Government, whose Military and Police personnel perpetrated the illegality, ought to apologise to Mrs Justice Peter-Odili. This is without prejudice to the investigation ordered by the Inspector-General of Police.

Femi Falana SAN, Human Rights Lawyer; Recipient of the Bernard Simmons Award of the International Bar Association

Invasion of Justice Mary Odili’s Residence The Threatening Knell on the Institution of Justice Delivery in Nigeria Chief Aikhunegbe Anthony Malik, SAN Friday, 29th October, 2021 was yet another sad turn for the Honourable Justice Mary PeterOdili, Justice of the Supreme Court of Nigeria and, in fact, the next in rank of seniority to the Chief Justice of Nigeria, to taste the odious pill of impunity - the ugly reality of a value-subtraction component of the directive policy currently in vogue in the present-day governance system in Nigeria.

It Happened in 2020 The event of that day was, of course, not the first of such infamy in the career of the Honourable Justice Odili since her elevation to the Supreme Court Bench. Sometime in February, 2020, following the decision of the Apex Court in respect of the last Bayelsa State Governorship Elections, armed thugs shamelessly caused a breach of peace at the residence of the revered Justice, thereby subjecting her entire household to monumental intimidation, over an ostensibly and whimsically perceived influence on her brother Justices who sat on the Panel which decided the matter in favour of the opposition party, PDP. Expectedly, accusing fingers were pointed by the two contending political parties at each other, for being the masterminds of the infamy. Curiously, however, no arrest was made by the Police or other security agencies, neither did the very institution where His Lordship is a critical part of, the Supreme Court, issue any important statement in condemnation of the attack.

Accordingly, therefore, the uniqueness of this latest invasion of and breach of peace of His Lordship’s residence, is that it was the second time within two years that the His Lordship was having her turn.

Buoyed by the initial “successful” invasion as aforesaid of her residence in February 2020, with no strong reactions from who ought to have cared enough to do so, it became therefore attractive for either the initiators of the first invasion or another who had stood by and learnt the ropes, to up the game to another level of impunity through the machinery of the very judicial system, this time round. Now, while many had said the invasion of February, 2020 was ostensibly, albeit, whimsically, for her perceived influence on the judgement of the Supreme Court in favour of a PDP candidate believed to be her favoured party, by reason of her husband’s political antecedents, one is still at a loss as to which cause or reason to tie the latest

Femi Falana, SAN invasion.

Denials Despite the apparent imprints of the invasionary and gestapo tactics of the nation’s security agencies, they have all come out to deny knowledge of, and or involvement in the invasion. What is however, not in doubt, is that the invasion was carried out on the strength of an enrolled order of a Chief Magistrate Court in the FCT. And, even the regular Nigeria Police [the poster boy of executive delinquency], where the initiator of the judicial process of application for the search warrant, CSP Lawrence Ajodo, is enlisted, has also joined in the denial train.

Not to be outdone, the nation’s Chief Law Officer, the Attorney-General of the Federation, has equally denied knowledge of the order obtained by an amorphous body called “Joint Panel Recovery”, said to be a unit warehoused in his office. Nigeria and Nigerians are thus, foisted with a jolly good ‘whodunit’ game?

The Magistrate and the Deponent In the wake of strident public outcry against the outlawry, the Chief Magistrate of the FCT sitting at Wuse Zone 6, Chief Magistrate Emmanuel Iyanna, who issued the search warrant, withdrew into the comfort of his chambers, and in the same manner in which the very order was first made, churned out another counter-order, revoking the earlier one on the usual portmanteau excuse that he was misled into granting the earlier order.

Available records in the public domain, shows that one CSP Lawrence Ajodo who held out himself as being part of and acting at the behest of the “Joint Assets Recovery Panel” domiciled in the Attorney-General’s Office, applied for and obtained the search warrant on the strength of materials supplied in an affidavit deposed to by a certain whistle blower, one Aliyu Ibrahim who, from his own showing, resides somewhere in Niger State, but with the capacity to magically observe “illegal activities going on in some houses within Abuja and its environs”. In his affidavit, the deponent stated inter alia thus: “That I am sure and convinced that the kind of activities going on in those houses within Abuja is illegal and hereby report the said matter to the law enforcement agency.

That I hereby state that all information provided by me to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) are true and correct to the best of my knowledge”.

“…..the revocation or vacation of the order by the Magistrate, suo motu, apart from being suspect, constitutes, in my view, a cheap damage control”

Critically, the identification document of the Applicant Police officer is attached to the application to show his the identity. It, therefore, beats one hollow seeing that all those who ought to know and own up to the infamy, could afford to unabashedly continue in their denials of the obvious truth as to who carried out or was responsible the infamous invasion.

Etiquette and Decorum: The Judiciary’s Failure to Assert Itself Now, while the above attempts to answer the whodunit, the “why” bit of the invasion will be answered in multi prongs, it is noted that the Judiciary for far too long, has failed to recreate itself from the age-long orthodoxy of playing dumb and undue taciturnity associated with judicial officers. While one does not advocate that judicial officers should abandon the cherished etiquette and decorum of the legal profession, it appears the institution of the Judiciary, as the third arm of Government, has not adequately asserted itself in the protection of that etiquette and decorum, the defining parameters of its being, through the use of the very instrument of law.

For too long, the Nigerian Judiciary has existed in a cocoon of paradoxes. Despite its expertise in the interpretation of the law and conflict resolution, it has struggled to wriggle itself out of the recurring and serial conflictual situations of wanton desecration of its values. This is obviously so, because it has not been able to rise to the occasion in recent times, with the very instrument of law, to the many darts being wantonly thrown at it. If it is not one head of the Executive in the existing tiers of Government promising independence, it will be another apparatus of the sister arm of Government resisting, refusing or thinking nothing of the orders and judgements handed down by the courts.

Enabling Role of the Judiciary Itself: Lufadeju v Johnson The worrisome aspect of this judicial conundrum, is the enabling role that the Judiciary itself plays against itself. It is regrettable that the entire judicial activities are either characterised, for the most part, in the courts playing one complicitious role or the other with the other arms of Government.

Indeed, the fate of the Judiciary as typified in the recent invasion of and assault on the home of Justice Mary Odili, is only but a little drop from the mighty overhead ocean of enabling situations of judicial paradoxes.

Not too long ago, the legal community, nay the world, waited with bated breath, to see what the Apex Court would do when the Suit which challenged the unconstitutional removal from office of the Honourable Justice Walter Onnoghen as the Chief Justice of Nigeria by dint of a curious ex parte order of an inferior tribunal, came before it.

For inexplicable reasons, the court chose not a frontal determination of the gravamen of the case, but through the easy backdoor of lack of locus, robed itself the opportunity to frontally smother the wrong which is gradually

chipping away its very being. As if that was not bad enough, in February, 2020, when Justice Mary Odili had her first baptism of invasion at her residence, quiescent silence was the attitude from the Supreme Court. The culprits in the extant invasion, may have been emboldened to even recruit the very institution of the Judiciary at the lower wrung of the Magistracy to up the infamy of another invasion.

Indeed, for far too long, the Supreme Court has looked away from the clear abuse of the powers of the Magistrates to make arrest or search orders. More worrisome is the attitude of the Apex Court in cases that have come before them, where the powers of the Magistrates to make these arrest or search orders even in subject-matters or areas that are clearly outside their remit or jurisdiction.

Legal Practitioners are still in shock that the Apex Court frittered away the opportunity that was presented it in LUFADEJU v JOHNSON (2007) 8 NWLR (PT 1037) 535, to pronounce against such obvious constitutional outlawry of gross infraction of the fundamental right of fair hearing as guaranteed under and by virtue of Section 36 of the Constitution. Curiously, the court rather gave judicial fillip to the obvious unconstitutional practice of Magistrates issuing remand orders in respect of matters outside their jurisdictional competence. Unfortunately, this decision and other along this line, are often cited by the prosecuting authorities and Magistrates to justify their actions and judicial outlawry.

Emboldened by the imprimatur accorded this practice by the Supreme Court in the Lufadeju case, the Magistrates, in collusion with mischievous security agents and law enforcement officers, now issue pre-signed orders to the security agents, who merely date and insert relevant contents against potential victims on a need basis. A calm review of the search order/warrant granted by Chief Magistrate Iyanna in the instant case, will inexorably point to an uncanny reflection of this disturbing trend. A cursory perusal of the order of the Magistrate, will expose clearly his complicity in issuing out a pre-signed order. Of particular importance in this case, is the subsequent revocation of the order by the same Magistrate on the ground that facts were misrepresented to him. Shorn of any unhelpful embroidery, the revocation or vacation of the order by the Magistrate, suo motu, apart from being suspect, constitutes, in my view, a cheap damage control.

Conclusion Now that the chicken has come home to roost from the far flung free range it had gone, the Supreme Court, as the apex court with superior power to review the decisions of other courts in the hierarchy, may necessarily have to take a hard look at the seeming omnipotence of the powers of the Magistrates to grant remand orders and search warrants, particularly in matters over which they have no jurisdiction. It is the hope of this writer that, in the nearest future, their Lordships of the Supreme Court will rise to the occasion and do the needful, whenever the opportunity is cont'd on page VIII

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Attack on Odili's Residence: A Desecration of Nigeria’s Judiciary cont'd from page VII

presented to them to pronounce on this issue.

Undoubtedly, the Apex Court holds the key to saving the Judiciary, from the sustained assaults and unwarranted attacks it has been subjected to lately. There is no better time than now for the Judiciary to recreate itself from the unhelpful orthodoxy of dumbness in the face of existential attacks by other arms, organs and agents of Government with contrary interests to serve.

Chief Aikhunegbe Anthony Malik, SAN, Constitutional Lawyer, Abuja

Raid on Justice Odili’s Residence, Police Officers and Need to Apportion Blame Appropriately Sylvester Udemezue I read a story under the headline, “WE’VE ARRESTED RAIDERS OF JUSTICE ODILI’S RESIDENCE, SAYS IGP"! wherein it is reported thus: “The Inspector General of Police (IG) Alkali Usman has said operatives who raided the residence of Supreme Court judge, Justice Mary Odili have been arrested. He disclosed this during an interview at a two-day capacity building workshop for security operatives in Lagos and Ogun organised by the Assistant Inspector General (AIG) Zone Two, held at Victoria Island, Lagos". (See Thenigerialawyer of November 2, 2021).

Crucial Questions This raises two crucial questions: The first question is, “Who is to blame for the unfortunate invasion of Hon. Justice Mary Peter-Odili’s residence?"

The Police officers who conducted the raid?

The Lawyers (whether they're Police officers or other Lawyers, however highly or lowly placed) who are found to be involved in procuring the bizarre order (Search Warrant)? The Magistrate who gave the order (Search Warrant) and hence, authorised the raid?

All of the above? Only numbers (2) and (3) above? Or only number (3) above?

In my humble opinion, the correct answer could be Number 4 or Number 5, depending on the circumstances and perspectives . A second question is, “What's the level of involvement and culpability of all involved in the shameful act"?

There are three principal actors in the imbroglio.

The Police. Lawyers. And the Magistrate. Let's take them one after another.

Executing Police Officers (Police Officers Who "Executed" the Search Warrant) I do not think the security agents involved in the raid have much blame, unless in the execution they had gone outside the letters and contents of the order of court (Search Warrant). Generally, an order of court is meant to be obeyed. Rule of Law demands that all orders issued by a competent Court, unless and until set aside, overruled or otherwise repealed, must be obeyed to the letter.

It is immaterial that anyone or group thinks the order or orders are valid, invalid, or whatever.

Ogundare, JSC, in the case of ROSSEK v A.C.B. LTD. (1993) 8 NWLR (PT. 312) 382 at pages 434-435 E-C treated the matter extensively. Below is, inter, alia, what he said: “A party, who knows of an order, whether null or valid, regular or irregular, cannot be permitted to disobey it. …It would be most dangerous to hold that the suitors, or their solicitors, could themselves judge whether an order was null or valid - whether it was regular or irregular….As long as it existed, it must not be disobeyed”. This view was re-echoed by Romer L.J in HADKINSON v HADKINSON (supra) where he observed:

Anthony Malik, SAN “It is the plain and unqualified obligation of every person against, or in respect of whom an order is made by a court of competent jurisdiction, to obey it unless and until that order is discharged. The uncompromising nature of this obligation, is shown by the fact that it extends even to cases where the person affected by an order believes it to be irregular, or even void and affirmed by the Privy Council in ISAACS v Robertson (Supra), Eso, JSC stated the same view in OBA ALADEGBEMI v OBA FASANMADE (Supra) where he observed: “... for a court of competent jurisdiction, not necessarily of unlimited jurisdiction, has jurisdiction to decide a matter rightly or wrongly. If that court never had jurisdiction in the matter, then its decision is, without jurisdiction, void, but then should a court of law not even decide the point? That is, the court without jurisdiction decide without jurisdiction? Should the decision be ignored? Surely, it would not make for peace and finality, which a decision of a court seeks to attain. It would, at least, be against public policy for persons, without the backing of the Court, to pronounce a court decision a nullity, act in breach of the decision, whereas others may set out to obey it. In my respectful view it is not only desirable, but necessary to have such decisions set aside first by another court, before any act is built upon it despite the colourful dictum of the law Lord in U.A.C. v MACFOY (Supra)."

Generally, therefore, orders of a competent court must be obeyed as long as they subsist, if the authority and administration of the court are not to be brought into disrepute, scorn or disrespect. They remain binding on parties thereto until set aside by a superior court of competent jurisdiction, or declared null and void. Thus, once a party knows of the subsistence of an order of court, whether valid or not and whether regular or irregular or even perverse, he is obliged to obey it. See ADEBAYO v JOHNSON (1969) 1 ALL NLR 176; ALADEGBEMI v FASANMADE (1988) 3 NWLR (PT.81) 129; KOMOLAFE v OMOLE (1993) 1 NWLR (PT.268) 213; ROSSEK v AFRICAN CONTINENTAL BANK LTD. (Supra). See also the dictum of MUHAMMAD, J.S.C ( Pp. 23-27, paras.

E-C ) in OSHIOMHOLE & ANOR v FGN & ANOR (2004) LPELR-5188(CA).

Accordingly, if the security agents' involvement doesn't go beyond executing the search warrant strictly as issued by the Magistrate, they’re hardly to blame for any wrongdoing.

We all have been shouting rule of law, obey

“I support the call by inimitable DLS, Femi Falana, SAN to fish out and discipline, for gross professional misconduct, all Lawyers involved in procuring the ill-fated Search Warrant. These Lawyers, whoever they are, in addition to the chief/principal offender, the presiding Magistrate, are the real culprits…..”

court orders. Now, I respectfully submit again that, if all the Police officers had done was to merely obey a subsisting order of a competent court of law, then they can hardly be said to have done much wrong, provided they had carried out the order (warrant) strictly in line with the stipulations on the warrant.

However, the answer to my first question would be item Number 4 on the above list, if the Police Officers are found to have failed to religiously follow the order made by the Magistrate.

For example, there is this earlier report that the Police officers had, during the execution, left the house address mentioned in the search warrant and went to a different house address, this time the house of Hon, Justice Mary Peter-Odili. As aptly captured

by Learned Silk Silk, Malik, “the Magistrate’s order did not target Justice Odili's residence.

The warrant was against No. 9 Imo Street (Close), Maitama, whereas the Police officers upon obtaining the order made a detour and diverted to Justice Odili's residence at No. 9 Imo River Street, Maitama. There is a world of difference, between the two addresses”. If this detour version is true, then the Police officers are to some extent, that’s, partly, blameful. But, a larger part of the blame still goes to both the Lawyers who had procured that strange, bizarre order, and to the Magistrate who had granted the order, notwithstanding the obvious deficiencies, absurdities, fraud and illegalities seen in the processes placed before the Magistrate.

The search warrant should never have been issued, in the first instance. And, I submit that if the Lawyers and the Magistrate did not breach their respective professional duties, and (in the case of the Magistrate) judicial duties, the blunder said to have been committed by the Police officers during the execution, wouldn't arise. Indeed, many take the view that the absurdities on the face of the Search Warrant had aided and facilitated the confusion that led to the apparent misjudgement or errors committed by the executing Police officers. These absurdities on the Search Warrant, I have already discussed above, that is, not in the present commentary but in my first comment on this incident.

Lawyers Involved in Procuring the Order They are heavily culpable for misleading the court, and for gross violation of Rule 15, RPC 2007. Rule 15 provides that, in his representation of a client, a Lawyer (whether he is a Police officer or not) must do or refrain from doing the following: (a) must not aid or participate in conduct that he believes to be unlawful; (b) to keep strictly within the law, notwithstanding any contrary instruction by his client and, if the client insists on a breach of the law, the Lawyer shall withdraw his service; (c) use his best endeavours to restrain and prevent his client from committing misconduct or breach of the law with particular reference to judicial officers, witnesses and litigants, and if the client persists in his action or conduct, the Lawyer shall terminate their relations; (d) must not give service or advice to the

client which he knows or ought reasonably to know is capable of causing disloyalty to, or breach of, the law, or bringing disrespect to the holder of a judicial office; (e) must not file a suit, assert a position, conduct a defence, delay a trial, or take over action on behalf of his client, when he knows or ought reasonably to know that such action would serve merely to harass or maliciously injure another; (f) must not knowingly advance a claim or defence that is unwarranted under existing law; (g) must not conceal or knowingly fail to disclose that which he is required by law to reveal; (h) must not knowingly make a false statement of law; (i) must not participate in the creation or preservation of evidence, when he knows or ought reasonably to know that the evidence is false; (j) must not counsel or assist his client in conduct that the Lawyer knows to be illegal or fraudulent; or (k) must not knowingly engage in other illegal conduct, or conduct contrary to any of the rules. (l) Where in the course of his representation of his client a Lawyer receives clearly established information that the client has perpetrated a fraud upon a person or tribunal, he shall promptly call on his client to rectify it, and if his client refuses or is unable to do so, he shall reveal the fraud to the affected person or tribunal, except when the information is a privileged communication; and if the person who perpetrated the fraud is not his client, the Lawyer shall promptly reveal the fraud to the tribunal.

Rule 1(1) RPC 2007 provides that a Lawyer shall uphold and observe the rule of law, promote and foster the cause of justice, maintain a high standard of professional conduct, and shall not engage in any conduct which is unbecoming of a legal practitioner.

The Presiding Magistrate The Magistrate's misconduct is glaring even to the blind, with due respect to his Worship. His misconduct is twofold: (a) He ought to be made to face the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee (LPDC) in his/her capacity as a Lawyer whose name is on the Roll. See Section 11 and 12 LPA Cap L11 LFN 2004; and (b) He ought to be made to face disciplinary measures by the relevant disciplinary authorities for Magistrates - including the Judicial Service Committee of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja; See Part 3 (2)(c) of the 2nd Schedule to the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 which provides that "The Committee shall have power - (c) to appoint, promote and exercise disciplinary control over the Chief Registrar and Deputy Chief Registrars of the High Court, the Sharia Court of Appeal and the Customary Court of Appeal of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, Magistrates, the Judges and members of the District and Area Courts of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, if any, and all other members of the staff of the judicial service of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja not otherwise specified in this Constitution and of the Judicial Service Committee of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja". cont'd on page IX

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I have already set out, above (although I will repeat them in Part 2 of the present piece), the particulars of the professional and judicial misconduct, perpetrated by the said Presiding Magistrate.

Conclusion Please, let's apportion blame appropriately.

Subject to my provisos above, I do not see how a Police officer who merely executed an order issued by a competent court of law, could be arrested for committing an offence.

Even the semblance between "No. 9, Imo Street (Close), Maitama, Abuja" and "No. 9, Imo River Street, Maitama, Abuja" is so obvious to an ordinary mind that such could have reasonably confused, and therefore, misled unsuspecting Police officers, especially considering the gross low level of formal education of many a Police officer in Nigeria, today. I therefore, suggest that we channel our blame appropriately.

I support the call by inimitable DLS, Femi Falana, SAN to fish out and discipline, for gross professional misconduct, all Lawyers involved in procuring the ill-fated Search Warrant. These Lawyers, whoever they are, in addition to the chief/principal offender, the presiding Magistrate, are the real culprits who must be professionally disciplined, to serve as a deterrent others. Impunity in high places, persists because no example has been set of anyone. Meanwhile, the level of culpability of the executing police officers, in my opinion, is too low, compared to the grave, atrocious and abominable assault unleashed against the distinguished Number 2 Justice in the Country, and by extension against the institution of the judiciary, by the combined unprofessional actions of lawyers and the presiding Magistrate who are themselves members of the law profession in Nigeria. The institution of the judiciary, the temple of justice, is too sacred to be desecrated in such a brazen and unashamed manner by people who should have known better.

Sylvester Udemezue, Senior Lecturer, Nigerian Law School

Attack on Justice Odili’s Residence ‘Judiciary Had It Coming, and Must now Redefine its Future’ Joseph Otteh Introduction On Friday October 29, 2021, armed operatives from different law enforcement and security agencies stormed the official residence of Supreme Court Justice, Hon. Justice Mary Peter-Odili CFR, to execute a search warrant issued by an FCT Chief Magistrate. The Supreme Court has described the incident as a “dehumanising treatment”. Law enforcement and security agencies, whose operatives participated in the incident have denied that they were part of it, while the Inspector General of Police has reportedly set up an investigation. On discovering that the search warrant signed was used for the search of a Supreme Court Justice, the Magistrate who signed the warrant reportedly revoked it unilaterally.

Reacting to the incident, the Supreme Court, through its Director of Information, Dr Festus Akande, warned that the Judiciary should not be misconstrued by any institution of Government as the “weeping child among the other arms of Government”. This response is probably the

Sylvester Udemezue

strongest remonstration against actions of a Government targeted at the Judiciary, there has been. The Judiciary further said that, it has had “a full dosage of this fusillade of unwarranted and unprovoked attacks on our judicial officers and even facilities across the country, and we say it loudly now that enough is enough”.

Is this Another Straw in the Wind?

This case has familiar resonance with the past, and anyone familiar with the shenanigans of this Government, can pick the signals of what is likely cooking from afar. Nigeria’s President has hardly hidden his politics on the Judiciary. His desire has been to “reform” the Judiciary, and he has often spoken about how the Judiciary has frustrated him again and again, both before and after he became President. Mr President’s reform mantra however, simply provides a peg on which to hang motives that are both parochial and possibly bigoted, but clearly less than altruistic - and it is to forge a new Supreme Court whose loyalty he can count on.

We see this in the way the Presidency recently arm-twisted judicial authorities into recommending Justices favoured by it, for appointment into the Supreme Court.

It should, of course, be remembered that the Presidency withheld its approval of four recommended Justices of the Court for about a year - apparently not for any legitimate cause - but so that judicial authorities would “do the right thing”; he only made the appointments just as soon as he thought the “right” people were added to the list, and recommended to the President for appointment. This was in spite of the fact that, over a long period at that time, the Supreme Court was being crushed by the weight of its workload given its lean workforce.

With this regime, it seems reasonably obvious that no barrel is too deep to be scraped once the line has been drawn, and that is why we must ponder, with some trepidation, what the “search” of Justice Mary Peter-Odili’s house represents. And, we wonder, because the parallels with past incidents concerning “marked” Supreme Court Justices are strikingly familiar. Not too long ago, following “whistleblowing” by an “activist”, former Chief Justice, Walter Onnoghen, was ignominiously removed from

“Mr President’s reform mantra however, simply provides a peg on which to hang motives that are both parochial and possibly bigoted, but clearly less than altruistic - and it is to forge a new Supreme Court whose loyalty he can count on”

Joseph Otteh

office, in the most imponderably blatant way.

It may be that this search is a prelude to something more ominous, and, were it not, one would have expected that the body language of the Presidency would be different.

The Presidency has, not unsurprisingly, been mute over the harassment of a senior Justice of the Supreme Court. So, we may not have heard the last of the matter.

A Long Road to Perdition How did we get here? Not even in the despotic haughtiness of military rule was the Supreme Court so disparaged. Why are Supreme Court Justices - and in fact, the entire Judiciary - at the receiving end of repetitively disrespectful and sometimes ruthless behaviour from the Executive? This, after all, is a constitutional democracy, and the branches of Government are independent and ought to enjoy some form of co-equal respect from each other.

It is hardly possible to separate what is happening to the Nigerian Judiciary from the state in which the Judiciary is at the moment, and some may, in fact, interpret this and other events of the last few years, as prophesies foretold. But, we did not arrive here overnight.

Over the course of many years, a once highly-rated Judiciary across the Continent (and notwithstanding the adulatory forms of expression and clichés we apply in composing our protocols for our Judges every time), gradually lost its sparkle, stature and authority. And, then failed to do much to rebuild and reinvent itself. In the absence of hard political power or the authority of its “soft” power, the Judiciary simply became a vulnerable target of predatory Executive power, of the sort this administration is well skilled at.

A weak Judiciary will likely avoid confrontation with Government, and in doing so, shy away from enforcing the rule of law or individual rights, if acting so will place the courts in the crosshairs of Government. In other words, a weak Judiciary will largely be unable to enforce constitutional limits on governmental power, and, even where it barks, will not bite.

Judiciary’s Indulgence of Impunity has a Role to Play?

But, there are also social and governance costs of being impassive. The rule of law will always be in danger as long as courts are not spirited in its defence, and while labels - whether “conservative” “moderate” or “liberal” - can count on occasion, they ought to be of no importance when it comes to safeguarding the rights of citizens.

A weak Judiciary too, will not likely receive much political support from civil society if it runs into confrontation with the Executive, because of trust deficits in society’s perception of the judicial institution. Where a Judiciary will not enforce citizens’ rights, alongside its authority when Government flouts its orders and judgements, and is ever so ready to accommodate impunity in order not to appear

confrontational, it loses its moral capital, and is perceived more as an appendage of Government than a bulwark of liberty. And, civil society will legitimately ask: if the Judiciary will not be there for them in times of trouble, why should they be there for the Judiciary in times of its distress?

Other Constitutional Judiciaries Rising to the Occasion A Judiciary must be ever so ready to fight for the rule of law no matter how bruising that struggle is, and Judiciaries of constitutional democracies have known that there will be times when their strength, independence and authority are tested.

Indian courts have a storied history of resisting efforts by government to control it, whether it be in terms of appointing Judges, or allocating budgets to courts, or enforcing mandatory orders against government. The Indian Judiciary enjoys considerable global respect, today.

In Pakistan, some will also recall the fight the Pakistani Supreme Court had to put up, under the erstwhile government of President Pervez Musharaff. Former Chief Justice, Iftikhar Chaudhry had implemented reforms to improve the efficiency of the Judiciary, which gave new impetus to public interest litigation through a Human Right Cell established in the Supreme Court. Consequently, the Supreme Court dealt with several matters of public interest and human rights violations, including issues that directly affected the ordinary person. This made the Supreme Court popular among the masses and the liberal intelligentsia, as the court began to take on more complicated issues pertaining to rights and liberties which the Musharraf government saw as a threat, culminating in the dismissal of the Chief Justice Chaudhry by President Musharraf.

Not surprisingly, the dismissal proved a catalyst in galvanising Lawyers, civil activists and people at large, into a broad-based social and political movement to oust Musharraf and restore democratic governance. The fight was won, Iftikhar Chaudhry was restored to office, and the rule of law prevailed. The Nigerian Judiciary must be ready, at whatever cost, to stand up and defend its independence.

Conclusion The key note of this piece, is that the harassment of Justice Mary Peter-Odili has been facilitated by the Judiciary’s own regressive state, and the perception, rightly or wrongly, that it is unable to stand up to the Executive. In the media statement it issued following the operation, the Supreme Court stated that: “The Nigerian judiciary cannot only bark, but can also bite”! The problem is, the Judiciary cannot retaliate to the actions of the Executive by ordering a tit for tat, and the only way it can “bite” is by holding this Government accountable for its actions, something it nearly hardly does. But, how can it do so in its present state? So much painstaking effort is needed to rebuild the Judiciary and place it in a position of strength to undertake its constitutional role, and ward off efforts to intimidate its Judges or infiltrate its space. Will the Judiciary see this as yet another wake-up call?

Joseph Otteh, Lawyer; Founder of Access to Justice

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That Crude Invasion of Justice Odili’s House: A Metaphor of a Failed State Introduction igeria has become one huge joke.

She has been so dehumanised in such a way as to generate one form of absurdity or another, on a daily basis. Nigeria has become a sickening contraption of one scandal per day.

Indeed, Nigeria, under the President Buhari government, does not practice democracy at all. Rather, it practices electonocracy, judocracy and executocracy. I will explain these terms I have personally coined from my personal lexical dictionary. “Electionocracy” is a system of government where elections are held as a ritual at intervals (every four years in the case of Nigeria), with the emergent elected or selected leaders, rather than giving the electors democratic dividends; merely stabilising themselves in power, and start looking forward to the next election.

“Judocracy” is a genre of government practiced in Nigeria, where Presidents, Governors, Legislators and LG Chairmen are thrown up in an election, enmeshed in legal callisthenics, and get conceived, incubated and delivered in the hallowed precincts of our courts; rather than true the ballot box.

“Executocracy”, as practiced in Nigeria, is an aberrant form of government, where the executive arm of government acts in torrerem of other arms of government, browbeats, intimidates, harasses and subjugates them. It is usually headed by a maximalist, autocratic, dictatorial head, who views himself as Loius XIV of France. Loius XIV was so intoxicated with the effect of liquor-inebriating power, that in 1655, he proudly stood in front of parliament and declared “L’etat, C’ est moi” (I am the State). He said this, to indicate his complete hold on power.

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Justice Odili and an Intimidated Judiciary The case of cerebral, apolitical and fecund Jurist, the Honourable Justice Mary Ukaego Peter-Odili, whose judgements drip with intellectual depth and breadth, has once more thrown up the quagmire the Judiciary faces as the third arm of Government.

As far back as the 1780s, three great American Federalists, Alexander Hamilton, John Jay and James Madison, theorised on the different aspects of checks and balances between the three arms of government- the Legislature, the Executive and the Judiciary. This doctrine of separation of powers had, in 1778, been popularised by the great French philosopher and jurist, Baron de Montesquieu.

In his federalist paper No. 78, Hamilton theorised that the Judiciary is the weakest of the three branches of government, because it has “no influence over either the sword or the purse, …… it may truly be said to have neither FORCE nor WILL, but merely judgement”. This was as far away as May 28, 1788.

Predicated on this, successive Nigerian governments - colonial, military and civilian - have always, to varying degrees, been intimidated, harassed, terrorised and overawed by the Judiciary. The courts, like the proverbial phoenix that rises from its ashes, have refused to be obliterated. Thus, in the Military Governor of Lagos State v Ojukwu (1986)- LPELR-3600 (SC), the Supreme Court warned that the rule of law must be obeyed, even under military dictatorships.

The Crude Raid on Justice Mary Peter-Odili’s Residence On the night of Friday, 29th October, 2021, some fully armed security agents crudely invaded the serene house of Justice Odili at No. 7, Imo River Street, Maitama, Abuja. A senior counsel who had heard the breaking news, alerted me. The human rights activist in me, immediately snapped; and I rushed to the house on my way from the Nnamdi Azikiwe Airport to my home in Abuja (from Lagos).

By the time I arrived there, the security agents had retreated to the shadows of the trees around

Hon. Justice Mary Peter-Odili, JSC the area. They were either scared or ashamed of their crude and bizarre act. Indeed, the rapid emergence of human traffic from the vicinity must have forewarned the agents of darkness, that October 29, 2021 was quite different from late Friday night on October 8, 2016, till the early hours of Saturday. This was when hooded DSS operatives invaded the serene houses of Justices Adeniyi Ademola, Nnamdi Dimgba; the former CJN, Justice Walter Onnoghen and Justice Sylvester Ngwuta, JSC. Justices Dimgba, Ademola and Ngwuta were later exonerated from any wrong doing or malfeasance. No one in Government apologised to them. Justice Onnoghen, a whole sitting CJN, was not so lucky. He was hunted down and hounded out of power through an ex-parte court order issued by the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT), an inferior tribunal of record, not even recognised under Sectiom 6(6)(a) of the 1999 Constitution. As a Southerner, perhaps, he was not entitled to sit on the revered seat of the CJN; the first ever since Justice Ayo Gabriel Irikefe (1985-1987). Nigeria, we hail thee.

The Fake and Phoney Search Warrant To be sure, Justice Odili is the second highest ranking Justice of the Supreme Court, next only in rank to the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), the Hon. Justice Tanko Muhammad.

A search warrant dated 29th October, 2021, had been procured by one CSP Lawrence Ajodo, who claimed to be attached to the “Joint Panel Recovery Ministry of Justice”. This Panel is said to be comprised of agents from the EFCC, the Nigeria Police and personnel from the Ministry of Justice.

One Aliyu Umar of “No. 9, Maigoro Street, Niger State” (never heard of any address without the name of a village, city or town; except the State), had paid N500, and deposed to an affidavit as far back as 13th October, 2021. This was 16 clear days before 29th October, 2021.

Umar’s affidavit did not even mention Odili’s name or address. He merely deposed that he had “observed some illegal activities to be going on in some Houses within Abuja and its environs”; and that “all information provided by me to the EFCC, is true and correct to the best of my knowledge”.

Based on this inchoate and incoherent affidavit not worthy of the paper it was written on, one CSP Lawrence Ajodo applied for a search warrant 15 days later, on 28th October, 2021. The application addressed to the Chief Magistrate

“……with the AGF, IGP, EFCC, and other security agencies denying complicity, who did it? Who wanted Justice Mary Odili dead, maimed, humiliated or disgraced out of office when she has just till May 12, 2022, to honourably retire from the Bench at 70, after serving her country meritoriously?”

AGF, Abubakar Malami, SAN Court, Zone 6 Wuse, Abuja, was headed ‘Application for your requisite consent and to issue to me CSP Lawrence Ajodo Force AP No: 201192 attached to Joint Panel Recovery under Ministry of Justice, a search warrant to enable me carryout investigation of compliant on oath by Mr Aliyu Umar Ibrahim, about illegal activities at No. 9, Imo Street, Maitama, FCT, Abuja’.

Armed with this application, Chief Magistrate Emmanuel Iyanna, immediately approved the search warrant. When the bubble burst with public ruckus and widespread uproar, the Chief Magistrate beat a hasty retreat and annulled his order immediately, in the following words: “Upon misrepresentation to the honourable court that led to the issuance of a search warrant in favour of Joint Recovery, Ministry of Justice against House 9, Imo Street, Maitama, Abuja, dated October 28, 2021. In view of the above fact search warrant is hereby revoked”.

The Great Mischief The search warrant clearly bears No. 9, Imo Street, Maitama. How did that metamorphose into Justice Odili’s No. 7, Imo River Street, Maitama? If it was not premeditated to deliberately embarrass Justice Odili, why did the security agents not mistakenly go to other nearby streets, such as Imo River Close, River Niger, River Benue, Nike Lake and Ekoro Oruro River Streets? What is the connection between No. 9, Imo Street and No. 7, Imo River Street? I cannot find it. Or, can you? CSP Ajodo had been directed by Chief Magistrate Iyanna to investigate the “commission (or suspected commission) of the offence of illegal activities suspected to prone to crime (sic) at No. 9, Imo Street Maitama, Abuja". So, why did the security team go to No. 7, Imo River Street?

How did “some illegal activities going on in some houses in Abuja” which never listed Odili’s house, metamorphose into her serene home where the learned Jurist was perhaps, busy poring away on legal matters?

Widespread Public Condemnation I believe this invasion was obviously targeted to once more embarrass Justice Odili, as security agents had done in February, 2020, after she presided over a Panel that delivered the Bayelsa Governorship election appeal at the Supreme Court. They did not care that she never read the lead judgement; and that even if she had, she could not have forced the other four Justices to agree with her position.

But, this time around, the Nigerians could take none of it. They struck.

As a Lawyer and rights activist who was physically present with my 'korokoro eyes' at the scene of the dastardly invasion, I immediately condemned it as being politically motivated, ruling out the possibility of a honest mistake.

Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State literally breathed fire, condemning the seige and calling for immediate justice. Vibrant and courageous

NBA President, Mr Olumide Akpata, rose to the occasion in a strong statement issued on behalf of the NBA, recalling a similar raid on the premises of Supreme Court Justices in 2016, the rationale of which was never fully explained or indeed justified, and concluding that the incident was a part of an orchestrated affront on the Judiciary, designed to intimidate and ridicule the Judiciary.

The Body of Senior Advocates of Nigeria (BOSAN), added its weighty, silky voice thus, after meeting with Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, who flatly denied involvement of his Ministry: “When Judges’ lives, careers, security and safety, when their independence is threatened, then democracy is also threatened”. BOSAN, through Chief Adegboyega Awomolo, SAN, also met with the CJN, warning that “The Body of SANs is very concerned about lives, security and safety of our judicial officers anywhere and everywhere”. In a rare show of engaging the public after years of lacerating and excruciating humiliation in the hands of the Executive, the Apex Court of Nigeria crawled out of its self-imposed cocoon, through its Director of Information, Dr Festus Akande, and warned that “the Judiciary should not be misconstrued by anyone or institution of Government as the weeping (perhaps, whipping) child among the arms of Government”. He went further: “This incident appears to be in isolation, but we cannot let it be swept under the carpet. The incident must be investigated, and investigated thoroughly.

Nigerians are interested in this matter. It should not be politicised; it’s a matter of grave, political and constitutional importance.

There are three arms of Government: the Executive , the Legislature and Judiciary. One is not supposed to be in ambush or overriding the other or threaten the other’s existence, otherwise democracy is at risk”.

The Legal Position To remove a Judge, it must be in accordance with the Constitution; not arbitrarily, whimsically and capriciously.

Section 158 and Paragraph 21 Part 1 of the Third Schedule of the 1999 Constitution clearly empowers the National Judicial Council (NJC) to handle all complaints. This position was accorded judicial imprimatur in the case of Nganjiwa v Federal Republic of Nigeria (2018) 4 NWLR (Pt.1609) 301, where the Court of Appeal held that “if any judicial officer commits a professional misconduct within the scope of his duty and is investigated, arrested and subsequently prosecuted by security agents, without a formal complaint report to the NJC, it will be a usurpation of the latter’s constitutionally guaranteed powers under Section 158 and Paragraph 21 Part 1 of the Third Schedule, thereby inhibiting the NJC from carrying out its disciplinary control over erring judicial officers as clearly provided by the Constitution… it is only when the NJC has given a verdict and handed over such judicial officer (removing his toga of judicial powers) to the prosecuting authority, that he may be investigated and prosecuted by the appropriate security agencies”. This decision means that the independence of the Judiciary and judicial officers is wholly guaranteed, and that no security agency or prosecuting authority in Nigeria, however highly placed, has the power to investigate, arrest, detain, or prosecute a sitting judicial officer, without first referring the matter to the NJC, and await the outcome and directive of the said NJC. So, Who Did It? The question remains: with the AGF, IGP, EFCC, and other security agencies denying complicity, who did it? Who wanted Justice Mary Odili dead, maimed, humiliated or disgraced out of office when she has just till May 12, 2022, to honourably retire from the Bench at 70, after serving her country meritoriously? And why? They must all be fished out promptly, tried and punished in accordance with the laws of the land. In addition, the Federal government through the relevant authorities, must render a PUBLIC APOLOGY and make restitution to Hon. Justice Mary Ukaego Peter-Odili, who, during the event, was badly shaken and put in great danger of life and security, with her entire household. This case is not such as can be swept under the carpet, in the usual Nigerian manner.

NO!!!

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BUSINESSWORLD R A T E S MONEY MARKET

A S

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

08056356325

N O V E M B E R

S & P INDEX

1 , 2 0 2 1

S & P INDEX

EXCHANGE RATE

OBB

9.00%

CALL

4%

INDEX LEVEL

564.02%

1/4 TO DATE

5.82%

N413.03/ 1 US DOLLAR*

OVERNIGHT

10.75%

1-MONTH

6%

1-DAY

–0.17%

YEAR TO DATE

– 15.85%

*AS AT LAST FRIDAY

3-MONTH

10%

MONTH-TO-DATE

0.19%

Underinvestment: Africa’s 125.8bn Crude Oil Reserves Slump by 500m Barrels in 2021 AFRICA’S OIL RESERVES BY COUNTRY

Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja The 125.8 billion crude oil reserves owned by 17 African countries have depleted by about 500 million barrels this year to 125.3 billion, ostensibly due to under-investment in the continent’s oil and gas infrastructure in recent years.

A THISDAY analysis of latest data released by statista, an online portal which provides data on economies, industrial sectors and markets in over 50 countries,

showed that while Libya still tops the list with 48.4 billion barrels, Nigeria has 36.9 billion barrels of the commodity while Algeria is third with 12.2 billion barrels.

However, Nigeria remains Africa’s highest producer as Libya has continued to face challenges with production, following the violence that in recent years rocked the country.

The data also aligns with the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) statistics

AFRICA’S ANNUAL OIL RESERVES IN BARRELS

which last month indicated that Nigeria’s crude oil reserves dropped to 36.91 billion barrels in 2020, from 37.4 billion barrels in 2016, indicating a decrease of 1.4 per cent or 543 million barrels in five years.

In its recently-released 2021 Annual Statistical Bulletin (ASB), OPEC disclosed that the nation’s oil reserves fell from 37.4 billion barrels in 2017, before sliding to 36.9 million barrels in 2018.

In August this year, the Director

of the now defunct Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), Mr Sarki Auwalu, said that although the country’s reserves had slumped, the organisation intended to ramp it up to 50 billion barrels in the short to medium term.

He added that the federal government was also targeting increasing Nigeria’s proven gas reserves from the current 206.53 Trillion Cubic Feet (TCF) to 250 TCF.

The analysis showed that Angola has a reserves of 7.8 billion barrels, Sudan 5 billion, Egypt 3.3 billion, Congo Brazzaville 2.9 billion, Uganda 2.5 billion, Gabon 2 billion, Chad 1.5 billion, Equatorial Guinea 1.1 billion, while Ghana has 700 million barrels of reserves.

In addition, Tunisia has 400 million, Cameroon has 200 million, Congo Kinshasa has 200 million, Niger 200 million and Cote d’Ivoire 100 million barrels of the commodity, although it

recently announced a “major” offshore oil and gas.

Compared to 2021, Africa’s cumulative oil reserves were 125.3 billion in 2019, 128 billion in 2018, 127.1 in 2017 and 127.3 billion in 2016.

But Nigeria led the export if crude oil from Africa in 2020, exporting more than 1.8 million barrels of oil per day, last year, although it has continued to Continued on page 30

FAO’s 2022-2031 Strategic Framework to Strengthen Agri-Food Systems Gilbert Ekugbe The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has stated its new strategic framework 2022-2031 is committed to strengthening the contribution of agri-food systems to reduce the impacts of the climate crisis.

According to FAO, it is scaling up early warning systems for early action to advance knowledge and promote innovation, moving from risk mitigation to transformative change through improved

water management, stressing that one of its innovations is FAO’s WaPOR programme that monitors crop production and crop water use by satellite remote sensing.

FAO in a statement on its website, however added that food security can only be achieved together with water security, as its Director-General, QU Dongyu, called for proactive actions to improve integrated water management while boosting the quality of life and livelihoods.

The director-general stated

this at a high-level launch of the report “2021 State of Climate Services: Water” led by World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) featuring inputs from FAO experts.

“Staple food production in many agri-food based countries remains largely rain-fed, and fragile against fluctuations from weather and climate variability,” the director-general said.

FAO estimated that high or very high-water shortage or scarcity currently impacts around 3.2 billion rural people

FOOD NAME OF COMMODITY

MAIZE

LOCATION

PRICE

100KG JIGAWA

N9000

100KG ENUGU

N24000

100KG DELTA

N15000

100KG

ABIA

N14000

50KG

LAGOS

N13500

SIZE

with one-sixth of the world’s population living in severely water-constrained agricultural areas. In addition, more than 170 million hectares - that is over 60 percent of irrigated croplands - are subject to high water stress.

Speaking about the negative impacts that water scarcity and flooding have on food security in rural areas and on socio-economic conditions, the director-general highlighted the importance of effective water management approaches to adapt agri-food systems to extreme hydro-

COMMODITIES

PRICE

climatological events.

He lauded the report for its clear recommendations to improve the implementation and effectiveness of climate services for water worldwide.

In his remarks, Dongyu cited three key factors that would help enhance the performance of water systems in the face of the climate crisis, including improved water management; policies and institutional capacities; as well as increased investments in integrated water resources management, especially in Small

T O D AY

Island Developing States and Least Developed Countries.

The director-general also pointed to the need to fill knowledge gaps on climate services in the water sector.

In conclusion, he reaffirmed FAO’s commitment to strengthen its work with WMO and other partners to increase the resilience of rural communities for water security and food security in the future.

FAO’s joint work with the Continued on page 26

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NEWS FOOD

NAME OF COMMODITY

PALM OIL

SIZE

STATE

PRICE

25CL LAGOS N20,000-N25000 25CL

PH

NAME OF COMMODITY

RICE

N21,000-24,000

COMMODITIES SIZE

25CL

IMO

N21,000–N24,500

PRICE

100KG ABUJA N23,000–N25,000 50KG 50KG

25CL IBADAN N18,000-N22,000

STATE

OYO

N22,000-N25,000

PLATEAU N23,500-N25,000 (JOS)

50KG KWARA N24,000–N27,000 50KG

LAGOS N23,000–N26,500

50KG RIVERS N23,000–N26,500

25CL

EDO

25CL ABUJA

N17,000–N20,000 N19500- N25000

PRICE

NAME OF COMMODITY

COCOA

T O D AY SIZE

EDO

N17,000–N20,000

PRICE

N740,000

1 TON ONDO – N760,000

1 TON

CROSS 1 TON RIVER 1 TON

SIZE

STATE

PRICE

ONIONS

100KG

IBADAN

N25,000

100KG

KANO

N10,000

100KG

BENUE

N27,000

100KG GOMBE

N12,000

100KG DELTA

N21,000

100KG LAGOS

N25,000

100KG ENUGU

N15,000

100KG

N29,000

N720,000 – N740,000

EDO

AKURE SOUTH, ONDO

NAME OF COMMODITY

N730,000 – N750,000

1 TON OSUN

50KG SOKOTO N11,500–N13,000 50KG

STATE

N700,000 – N720,000 N730,000 — N755,000

ABIA

Alaghodaro 2021: Dangote, Okomu, Presco Eye Edo Investment Opportunities Edo Refinery, Ossiomo Power Plant on spotlight As Edo readies for the Alaghodaro Summit 2021, bigticket investors including the Dangote Group, Okomu Plc and Presco Plc have declared interest to wholly participate in the summit, leveraging the platform to tap into the investment opportunities created by the business-friendly disposition of the Governor Godwin Obaseki-led state government.

The summit, in its fifth edition, is scheduled to take place between November 12 and 14, 2021, with the theme, “Edo of Our Dreams: Building a Sustainable Future.”

The annual summit, to mark the governor’s anniversary in office, showcases investment opportunities in the state and the numerous achievements, reforms and initiatives by the administration to improve the living standard of the people.

Chairman, Marketing and Branding Sub-Commitee, Alaghodaro 2021, Crusoe Osagie, in a statement yesterday said, “Already, top private sector players in the state and across the globe, like Dangote Group, Presco Plc and Okomu Plc, among others, have declared interests in the summit, with plans to leverage the businessfriendly environment and the opportunity for exchange of ideas with the private sector created by the state government to tap into Edo’s rich investment opportunities.”

He noted that the state has gotten an avalanche of requests from the organized private sector players, who are poised to clinch vantage positions at the summit to reap from the gains of the conducive-business

Group Business Editor Eromosele Abiodun Comms/e-Business Editor Emma Okonji Aviation Editor Chinedu Eze Asst. Editor, Money Market Nume Ekeghe Senior Correspondent Raheem Akingbolu (Advertising) Correspondents James Emejo (Finance) Ebere Nwoji (Insurance) Chineme Okafo (Energy) Emmanuel Addeh (Energy) Reporters Nosa Alekhuogie (ICT) Peter Uzoho (Energy) Ugo Aliogo (Development)

environment provided by the government.

According to him, “This year’s summit promises to be even more exciting, as it will showcase a number of the transformative policies and programmes by the state government targeted at further easing up the space for private investment and building a productive, efficient and result-driven civil and public service.

“While Okomu and Presco are poised to expand their plantation, Dangote is planning to accelerate its investment in the solid mineral sector, especially with its cement manufacturing plant, which is already operational in the state.

“Governor Obaseki has

continued to prioritise inflow of investment into the state with bold and investor-friendly policies, which has resulted in the setting up of a number of industrial plants, including modular refineries, gas processing plants, energy parks, an inland dry port, among others,” Osagie noted.

Also, he said the Edo Modular Refinery, the CCETC-Ossiomo Power Plant, and the Edo Production Centre, among other projects to open up Edo’s industrial sector will be the focal point of this year’s Alaghodaro Summit, as top manufacturers, business owners and other industry stakeholders converge to explore opportunities in

the state’s thriving industrial sector.

He added that the Obasekiled state government has continued to support the state’s manufacturing and industrial sector, ensuring the provision of the right incentives to drive productivity.

“These incentives, as well as reforms and projects like the Edo Modular Refinery, the CCETC-Ossiomo Power Plant, and the Edo Production Centre, among others, to open up the space for private investment in the manufacturing sector, will be brought to the fore at the Alaghodaro Summit 2021.

“The summit will serve as a platform to bring together local and international manufacturers as well as other industry

leaders to review and explore opportunities in the sector,” Osagie added.

According to Osagie, “The Alaghodaro Summit, over the years, has created opportunities for more investors to come into the state to tap from the state’s rich investment opportunities, and this year is no exception.

“With the expanding CCETC- Ossiomo Independent Power Plant that has now opened up the electricity market in Edo State to drive industrial growth and attract private investors, and the 1000bpd Edo modular refinery, which is now ready for production, the state is even more positioned to becoming a business destination haven.”

“Also, in the Edo Produc-

tion Centre, which is now being expanded to the three senatorial districts in the state, we have ensured the provision of a conducive environment for production, with electricity, water, security and other basic infrastructure. This we did to drive industrial development, provide job opportunities for youths and create wealth for our people.”

“We believe that this year’s Alaghodaro will be even more exciting, as we expect the convergence of local and international manufacturers and other industry stakeholders who are eager to leverage these opportunities created by the Obaseki-led state government,” he restated.

lliquidity: Experts Say CBN’s Interventions Saved Power Sector from Total Collapse Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja Eight years after the power sector was partially privatised, some experts have reviewed the state of the industry, highlighting that but for the intermittent interventions by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the sector would have been in a worse state today.

The electricity supply sector was unbundled in 2013, but has thereafter encountered several challenges, mainly due to what operators describe as the stark illiquidity in the system, put at about N4 trillion.

Some of the CBN interventions include the Power and Aviation Intervention Fund (PAIF), amounting to about

N300 billion, the Nigerian Electricity Market Stabilisation Facility (NEMSF) amounting to about N213 billion and the N140 billion Solar Connection Intervention Facility.

In addition, over N600 billion tariff shortfall intervention was offset by the apex bank, plus a recent N120 billion intervention designed for mass metering, plus another N701 billion facility deployed in March 2017 as Power Assurance Guarantee (PAG).

In terms of policies that have impacted the sector, last year, the CBN directed deposit money banks to take charge of the collection of electricity bill payments to improve payment discipline in the Nigerian Electricity Supply

Industry (NESI).

This has markedly impacted the sector since 2020 as consumers now pay over 78 per cent of their electricity bills to electricity Distribution Companies (Discos).

Stakeholders who bared their minds on the state of the sector, said that the over N2 trillion interventions in the sector by the federal government through the CBN saved the industry, but noted that as the industry grows, there would be the need for it to be self-sustaining.

An expert at PWC, Habeeb Jaiyeola noted that the interventions by government to keep the sector afloat remained necessary, adding that the move had yielded

necessary benefits.

He said that the interventions are not unexpected for a growing industry, stressing that the situation remained the same in many developed countries in order to keep the country powered.

But he argued that there was the need for the industry to outgrow consistent support, insisting that this has to happen soon, so that more funds can be freed for the benefit of other sectors.

He said: “With the intervention, we are seeing more progress, there is expansion and Nigerians are getting to better understand what the intricacies are”, but added that the repayment timeline will have to be strictly adhered so

that the funds can be used in other areas needing attention.

Also, the President, Nigeria Consumer Protection Network, Kunle Olubiyo had noted that given the level of illiquidity in the sector, support in terms of soft loans was necessary.

However, he advocated an urgent review, especially with supporting policies that would drive holistic results from the programmes.

An Energy Lawyer, Mr Madaki Ameh, in his assessment, noted that continuous interventions could make it impossible for the privatisation of the power sector to take off effectively, noting that it was necessary to reorganise the sector for optimal productivity.

FAO’S 2022-2031 STRATEGIC FRAMEWORK TO STRENGTHEN AGRI-FOOD SYSTEMS WMO in the framework of the UN-Water Integrated Monitoring Initiative for SDG 6 on clean water and sanitation provides

high-quality data for evidencebased policymaking, regulations, planning, decisions and investments at all levels.

The launch event also saw the participation of Secretary-General of WMO, Petteri Taalas, and Chair of UN-Water and President of the

International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), Mr. Gilbert F. Houngbo, as well as hundreds of stakeholders engaged

in implementing or supporting the application of climate services for effective adaptation in the water sector.

UNDERINVESTMENT: AFRICA’S 125.8BN CRUDE OIL RESERVES SLUMP BY 500M BARRELS IN 2021 struggle to meet its OPEC quota in the last couple of months.

Angola followed, with a daily export volume of roughly 1.2 million barrels. Overall, the exports of crude oil from Africa amounted to approximately 5.4 million barrels per day in the same year.

Furthermore, in 2019, Nigeria led crude oil exports in Africa, with more than 2 million barrels of oil

sold on the international market every day as the sector accounted for 7 per cent of Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) while in Angola, the industry had an even higher contribution to the GDP, at nearly 40 per cent.

Between October and December 2020, the oil industry contributed up to 5.9 per cent to the total real GDP, a decrease of roughly three percentage points compared to the

previous quarter while in the second quarter of 2021, the contribution of the oil sector to the country’s GDP reached 7.42 per cent.

In 2019, the figures showed that over 80 per cent of Nigeria’s export value was generated by the mineral fuels, oils, and distillation products’ sector, accounting for approximately $47 billion.

However, at the beginning of 2020, Nigeria’s daily oil production

exceeded 2 million barrels. Afterwards, the production decreased and reached 1.14 million barrels per day during January 2021, the lowest value recorded in the last years. Overall, the lowest daily production of oil in Nigeria was recorded during the first three months of 2021.

Nigeria’s output fell by 60,000 barrels a day to 1.44 million barrels a day in October, just above the

five-year low hit in August. Over a week ago, Royal Dutch Shell Plc was forced to invoke a clause suspending exports from its Bonny Oil Terminal in the country after a pipeline halt.

The country has continued to under-produce due to dilapidating and waning infrastructure resulting from underinvestment in the sector over the years, leading to incessant shutdowns.

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Time to Save the Gasping Textile Industry The ailing Nigerian textile industry needs urgent surgical operation and resolute determination of the federal government to bounce back to reckoning again writes Dike Onwuamaeze

T

he textile industry in Nigeria is dying by installments. It bears the features of an industrial sector in its last gasp of steep decline. Its operators are concerned that the industry might go into extinction unless an urgent surgical operation is administered to resuscitate dying industry.

THISDAY was told that in the mid-1980s and earlier part of the 1990s, the textile sub-sector of the Nigerian manufacturing sector had almost 175 textile mills operating in the country that employed as many as 500,000 workers.

However, current realities are indicating that those good old days when the textile industry was the highest employer of labour in Nigeria after the government might have be lost irretrievably.

Currently, the organised textile and garment sector have only 25 active textile mills and employed barely 25,000 workers. The Nigerian Textile Manufacturers Association (NTMA) said that these active mills are running below 25 per cent of their installed manufacturing capacity.

Some of the textile mills operates in fits and starts while almost all of them have reduced their operations from three shifts per day to a single shift.

THISDAY’s investigation also revealed that the number of textile mills that were engaged in production of mosquito nets in Nigeria has gone down from 30 to just one. The rest ran into misfortune and closed shop.

The investigation also revealed that no new investor came into the subsector for over a decade because of its parlous state.

The NTMA told THISDAY that the cumulative effect of the poor state of the textile industry is that over 90 per cent of textile products on sale in Nigerian markets today were either imported legally or smuggled into the country. Yet, industry sources told THISDAY that, “on a replacement basis, the present installed textile manufacturing capacity in Nigeria represents a $3 billion investment.” Moreover, “the Nigerian short-staple spinning installed capacity is ranked number two in Africa after Egypt with long staple spinning. However, the sector is largely over aged.”

The President of the NTMA, Mr. Folorunsho Daniyan, told THISDAY recently that the textile industry in Nigeria is in dire strait and needed urgent surgical operation to survive.

Daniyan summed up the condition of the industry thus: “The state of the textile industry is an unfortunate one. To give you a graphic picture of where we are in today, I will take you back to where we were years ago.

Then, we had about 175 factories but now we have 25 or less that are functioning and most of them are operating below 25 percent of their installed capacity utilisation.

This has already painted the picture of where we are now; that the industry is in dire strait and needs serious surgical operation and assistance from the government and people of goodwill to bounce back.”

He traced the decline in the fortunes of the textile industry to the liberalisation of the import policy of the country to such an extent that anything comes in.

This started with the implementation of the Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP) in 1986 by the former military ruler, President Ibrahim Babangida.

TRADE LIBERALISATION POLICY

The trade liberalisation policy has been sustained by successive regimes at a very high cost for the domestic textile manufacturers that could not compete with imported products from Asia and other parts of world due to

the constraints in Nigerian business environment.

“Gradually our capacity utilisation and operational factories started dwindling because of unfair competition from imports from Asia and other parts of the world. We produce fabrics that are 100 per cent cottons, at an average cost of N3000, N4000 per six yards. But synthetic textile materials are coming in from Asia at N1000 per six yards. So, there is no competition. So, it is a big problem. So, we need the government, especially the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) and the Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON) to wake up to their responsibilities and enforce the laws and standards that are applicable to the country’s textile industries.

“The SON gives us (local manufacturers) standards that we must meet, but it does not enforce these standards on imported textile materials. So, there is some double standard in the whole thing,” Daniyan said.

The NTMA recently listed some of the constraints hindering the growth of the textile industry in Nigeria.

It said: “When benchmarking a number of Nigerian input cost factors with a panel of countries with which Nigeria competes, it is evident that Nigeria has high cost for the most important inputs like cost of power/kwh, cost of water, cost of steam/ kg, cost of labour, cost of interest on credit and age structure of the equipment installed in Nigeria.”

Other challenges besetting the textile industry in Nigeria, according to the NTMA, smuggling, influx of substandard textiles materials and thriving sale of “faked” patents of textile designs that belonged to Nigerian textile manufacturers.

The association alleged that the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) and the SON are often lethargic in dealing with smuggling and the sale of faked and substandard textile materials in Nigerian markets.

The association is, therefore, urging the federal government to take similar measures that have worked effectively in other countries to curtail these illicit practices in Nigeria. “When the textile industry was dying in Ghana, the Ghanaian government set up a special task force to combat textile smuggling.

The taskforce was made up of various agencies and its sole purpose was to combat smuggling of textile into Ghana. Now, the textile industry is on the rise again in Ghana,” Daniyan said.

IMPACT OF SMUGGLING

The association alleged that smugglers are having a field day in the Katunguri Market, Kano, where he claimed that not less than 20 truckloads of smuggled fabrics came into the market on daily basis without being challenged by the NCS. “Take a visit to Kano market and you will see that over 90 per cent of the African prints (Ankara materials) on sale in the state were smuggled. How do they get across the borders? The customs are paying lip service to its duties. We have made presentations to the comptroller general of NCS during a meeting in his office some years ago to draw his attention to these things. We also informed him that even some of our intellectual properties are being copied. He said that he would get in touch to us but nothing came out of it,” he said.

Daniyan stated that the fortunes of the subsector would grow by 30 per cent if smuggling could be brought down by just 10 per cent.

He said: “The future of the Nigerian textile industry depends on the will power of the government to protect it. The potentials are here. The basic raw materials are here. Experienced workforce is here. The projection we have is that if smuggling is curtailed by as much as 10 per cent about 30 per cent of textile companies will come back to operation and capacity utilisation will go up. The fate of the industry is in the hand of government because if the government will breathe down on the NCS something will happen.”

The federal government has taken some notable steps to alleviate the condition of the textile industry and enable then to sustain their production through the provision of several grants by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) through the Bank of Industry (BOI).

EXECUTIVE ORDER 003

Another major step taken by the government is the proclamation of the Executive Order 003 that mandate federal ministries, departments and agencies, to give precedent to made in Nigeria products in their procurement of goods and services.

The NTMA argued that effective implementation of the order would help to stimulate national demand for local textile materials for the making of uniforms for the Nigerian military, para-military organisations, police, primary and secondary schools, nurses, etc.

The order enjoined ministries, departments and agencies of the federal government to give precedent to locally made goods in their procurement of goods and services.

But, “the fact is that none of the agencies has purchased a meter of cloth from the Nigerian textile manufacturers. It was only during the COVID-19 period that a little quantity was purchased from our members. Since then, nothing has been done.

The NYSC was the only agency that tried to do something with us. Kenya did it and is not regretting today,” Daniyan said.

Few weeks ago, a committee of the Nigerian Senate was startled to discover that the federal government proposed in its 2022 national budget to borrow $200 million to import mosquito nets in order to fight malaria even though a textile mill that could produce the tent.

The Managing Director of Rosies Textile Mill, Aba, Mr. Nnamdi Oji, told THISDAY that there is no need to import the mosquito nets, which could be supplied locally by his company.

Oji said: “I have supplied to Global Fund. I have supplied for some World Bank projects. My product has World Health Organisation’s certification. I’m also certified by the NAFDAC to produce net. I do not see why such order should not come to me to generate employment in the economy and increase my capacity to supply beyond Nigeria.”

However, all the agencies interviewed by THISDAY in the course of investigating this story claimed to have been implementing the EO 003.

The Spokesman of the Nigeria Army, Brigadier General Nwachukwu, said: “For the past six years we have been procuring our uniforms from within the country. There are two major companies that we buy from. One of them is the Sunflag Textiles and the other is Wollen Synthetic. Beyond uniform, we are patronising Nigerian made armaments and vehicles.”

Ditto the NCS and the Nigerian Immigration Service, which claimed to be sourcing their uniforms from Nigerian producers.

The NCS also pooh-poohed the allegation that smuggling of textiles is a booming business in any part of the country, particularly Kano.

NCS DENIES ALLEGATIONS

The Public Relations Officer of the NCS, Comptroller Joseph Attah, challenged those making the allegations to provide intelligence to the customs and see them swing into action.

Director General of Nigeria Textile Manufacturers Association, Mr. Hamma A. Kwajaffa, has pleaded strongly that the federal government should allow members of the NTMA to enjoy the benefits of the sugar levy.

He explained that, “this levy is development tax for local manufacturers on any imported textile material. The essence behind this levy is to enhance our competitiveness by using them to defray some of our overhead cost.

“In 2016, the NBS statistics stated that Nigeria recorded $4 billion worth of imported fabrics into Nigeria. That gives us $400 million. That is good enough for us. But this development levy is nowhere to be found. The sugar sector is enjoying theirs but ours has become problematic to access. The facts remained that those goods that are coming into Nigeria are very cheap. We have porous borders in Nigeria that encourage smuggling.

“As far as we are concerned, government has come up with lots of good policies that failed at their implementation stages. Our problem is actually in the implementation of government policies “Ogun is setting the right example by insisting that school uniforms must be supplied by local ‘adire’ makers.”

The SON has denied the allegation that it imposed double standards on the members of the NTMA. The Media Assistant to the director General of SON, Mr. Fashina Adebola, told THISDAY that the Nigerian Industrial Standard (NIS) is the basis for adjudging locally manufactured and imported products that are certified under the Mandatory Conformity Assessment Program (MANCAP) while imported products are certified under the SON Offshore Conformity Assessment Program (SONCAP).

Adebola said that the two programs run under same criteria in line with the World Trade Organisation procedure to ensure fairness and a level playing field in international trade and commerce, adding that SON carries out enforcement on suspected substandard textiles based on information in spite of being absent from the ports of entry since 2011.

He said: “We challenge the association to substantiate the claim. Most of the successful enforcement activities we have carried out particularly in warehouses are based on information received from stakeholders and patriots. We treat all information received in strict confidence and verify them using our established procedure.

“SON ensures provision of stakeholders’ and market driven standards developed with the active participation of relevant stakeholders and interested parties.

SON provides concessions to local manufacturers for importation of raw materials and machinery.

“SON mobilises Nigerian textile manufacturers to participate in development, review and adoption of international standards at regional, continental and global levels.”

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BUSINESSWORLD

MANUFACTURING

Coca-Cola System’s Holistic Approach to Water Stewardship Ugo Aliogo writes on how the Coca-Cola System in Nigeria, comprising of Nigerian Bottling Company Limited and Coca-Cola Nigeria Limited, has been working assiduously to better understand its water risks and those of the communities in which it operates.

A dam and water treatment plant handed over to Challawa community by the Nigerian Bottling Company

F

or ages, water has remained an indispensable resource for the survival of man and the sustainability of the planet. Water fuels our factories, powers agriculture, drives urbanization and supports the optimal functioning of our ecosystems. The United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights declares that the human right to water entitles everyone to sufficient, safe, acceptable, physically accessible, and affordable water for personal and domestic uses. Thus, water is not only an essential resource for the survival of people and the planet, access to safe drinking water and adequate sanitation are crucial drivers of sustainable development and poverty eradication.

Yet, according to a report by the 2030 Water Resources Group titled, “Charting Our Water Future,” global demand for water will be 40 per cent higher by 2030.

This means that the ever-expanding water demand of the world’s growing population and economy, coupled with the climate change impact, are making water scarcity a reality particularly in developing countries.

This dilemma, according to the report, places humanity at risk of severe threats to livelihoods and human health and ecosystems, environmental degradation, and much more. This now raises the question of, “how do we manage this critical resource sustainably?” Whilst the report may be sobering, it is encouraging to know that the problem can be solved to curb the risk to overall socio-economic development.

UNDERSTANDING WATER STEWARDSHIP AND THE ROLE OF CORPORATIONS

The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) describes Water Stewardship as using water in a manner that is socially equitable, environmentally sustainable, and economically beneficial.

Furthermore, UNIDO also declared that water use efficiency must increase radically in order to achieve Inclusive and Sustainable Industrial Development. This would require collaborative efforts by every inhabitant of planet earth, particularly industries, corporate organizations, and individuals.

“Driving water stewardship requires collaborative efforts, ”said Ekuma Eze, Corporate Affairs and Sustainability Director at the Nigerian Bottling Company (NBC) Limited.

He added, “In 2018, we announced our thoughtfully articulated Mission 2025 Commitments, with a key focus on elevating water stewardship and governance throughout our value chain. As a consumer packed goods company, we recognize water as a major ingredient in our brand portfolio, and a critical resource for the communities in which we operate.”

WATER RISKS

Long before ‘water stewardship’ became a buzzword in Nigerian corporate boardrooms and strategy sessions, the Coca-Cola System in Nigeria, comprising of Nigerian Bottling Company Limited. and Coca-Cola Nigeria Limited,

has been working assiduously to better understand its water risks and those of the communities in which it operates. To achieve this, the System had led Source Vulnerability Assessments and developed innovative Source Water Protection Plans (SWPP) for all its sites.

As a clear water stewardship leader in the Nigerian manufacturing industry, the Nigerian Bottling Company has taken further steps to mainstream best practices and inspire innovation in the sector. In 2020, the beverage giant announced a private-sector partnership with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID)’s Effective Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene Services (E-WASH) program. The program, implemented

by RTI International, contributes to strengthening and expanding the delivery of safe drinking water in Nigeria’s cities.

The partnership, according to its Managing Director, Matthieu Seguin, is premised on CocaCola’s long-standing commitment to preserve water resources in a sustainable way.

Through the partnership, NBC is also committed to provide continuous coaching and capacity enhancement for executives, senior managers, and water professionals in State Water Boards, equipping them with relevant skills to optimize urban water facilities in Abia, Delta, Imo, Niger, Taraba, and Sokoto states.

“By sharing our management expertise, we can enable long-term change in Nigeria’s water management and service delivery by replicating our success for delivering these essential services in cities across the country,” added Seguin.

AWS CERTIFICATION

These efforts have garnered critical acclaim from a broad spectrum of stakeholders. In 2019, NBC bagged the prestigious Alliance for Water Stewardship (AWS) certification becoming the first African bottling plant to receive the award.

Shortly afterwards in 2019, the NBC Ikeja plant became the first bottler in Africa to receive the AWS Gold certification, which essentially means that the plant has met the highest global benchmark for responsible water stewardship. Port-Harcourt and Asejire Plants also earned gold certifications the same year. While Benin, Challawa and Abuja Plants have achieved the Core certification, Owerri and Maiduguri Plant in Nigeria’s Northeast have bagged the gold certification respectively.

By receiving these globally acclaimed certifications, NBC re-affirmed its position as the undisputed leader in water stewardship across the African continent.

FRAMEWORK FOR COMMUNITY IMPACT

Over the last seven decades of its operations in Nigeria, the Coca-Cola System has made water

stewardship a driver of its sustainable manufacturing priorities. But more so, it has continued to implement initiatives that have impacted several communities across Nigeria. In 2010, the System launched the Replenish Africa Initiative (RAIN) initiative, which aims to provide access to clean drinking water for millions of Africans. Since then, Nigeria has been a major beneficiary of this programme which is being implemented under two platforms – the Water and Development Alliance (WADA), a strategic partnership between The Coca-Cola Company (TCCC) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) as well as the Safe Water for Africa (SWA) initiative in partnership with Water Health International; both platforms are implemented by Global Environment & Technology Fund (GETF).

Under WADA, which focuses on water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) facilities for underserved communities, life-transforming projects have been implemented in 9 communities in Kano and Enugu States comprising 28 new boreholes, 20 boreholes rehabilitated and 145 units of public latrines with handwashing facilities. In addition, , there is an ongoing implementation of a $2million WASH partnership with USAID in 44 communities across Cross River and Abia States.

Benjamin Okimbe, one of the beneficiaries in Ohana community of Cross River state, said, “My community has benefitted greatly from the borehole projects initiated almost ten years ago by the Coca-Cola System, and we are still benefitting. It has solved the problem of fetching water from the river and streams, and we are also able to save money as we no longer need to buy water. We can conveniently get clean water without looking too far. The proximity of the borehole to my house has also contributed to helping my children maintain better hygiene: it has indeed been a blessing!”

To ensure inclusion, the projects have been carefully spread across the country. In Kano State, the Coca-Cola System implemented the Challawa Clean Water Project. As Nigeria’s second largest city, Kano is the commercial centre of Northern Nigeria with a population of over 10 million people. However, its tropical arid climate has made ground water exploration a major challenge for communities as special techniques are required to drill the wells and riverbanks.

This prompted NBC to lead a major water intervention to alleviate the pains of millions of residents, by securing water availability to local communities in the state in collaboration with the Kano State Water Board and local communities. The first phase of the project has seen the installation of High-density polythene (HDPE), a type of flexible plastic pipes used to replace ageing concrete or steel pipelines.

The benefit of using HDPE thermoplastic is that it possesses a high level of impermeability and strong molecular bond which make it suitable for the high pressure required to transfer water from the river to the NBC production plant located in Challawa, where it is sanitized to drinking quality.

In the South East, the NBC also led the sensitization for cleanup of the Oginigba River situated in River State. The Company mobilized staff volunteers and residents in the community to participate in an intense cleanup exercise of the river. This is in addition to several cleanup campaigns held at various locations in the country, especially during commemorative days such as the World Cleanup Day and World Water Day to reiterate its commitment to sustainability.

FROM CARBON TO WATER FOOTPRINTS

Whilst reducing carbon footprint in its manufacturing operations has strengthened the Coca-Cola System’s sustainability journey, water-use footprint is also coming into the mix. As part of efforts to strengthen sustainable manufacturing, NBC is zooming the lenses on water efficiency and conservation. The company’s approach is to reduce water consumption by about 20% in water priority plants from 2017 to 2025, reuse it, recycle wastewater to the levels supporting aquatic life and replenish water by restoring it. Earlier in 2002, the company installed its first Effluent Treatment Plant (ETP) in its Benin Plant, long before improperly treated manufacturing wastewater became a regulatory concern in Nigeria. With the installation of ETPs across all its plants in the country, this ensures that the company’s manufacturing wastewater is fit for discharge back into the environment.

“For us, it is a huge honor to be able to chart the course of water stewardship for Nigeria, and by extension, the larger African supply chain. Every year, we have continued to challenge ourselves to embrace innovations that support sustainable water use in our operations and how we support our communities to access safe and healthy water. We hope to see more collaboration in the years ahead to address key challenges around water, ”Seguin said.

This year alone, about 3.6 billion people are unable to access adequate water, at least one month each year, according to 2021 State of Climate Services, a publication of the World Meteorological Organisation.

And the World Bank has warned that an estimated 700 million people could be affected by drought at the turn of the century.

However, by prioritizing water security, efficient use, and conservation, as seen in the Coca-Cola System’s model, organizations, governments, and communities can make a difference together. If anything, the Coca-Cola System has demonstrated that the earth is ours to plough; that water is the earth’s ultimate resource, and we have a duty to make every drop count.

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TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 2021 ˾ T H I S D AY

BUSINESSWORLD

DEVELOPMENT

Vaccines Equity or Investments: What Collaboration Does Africa Need More?

At the University of Edinburgh’s “Futures Conversations: Future of Economy”, which featured global influencers, policymakers, financial and economic leaders, academic experts, including former UK Prime Minister, Gordon Brown and Senior Director of the African Investment Forum, AfDB, Chinelo Anohu, a strong case was made for investments and collaboration over aids for Africa’s socio-economic transformation, reports Kayode Tokede

I

n the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, international cooperation has never been more important. In furtherance of this, the “Edinburgh Futures Conversations,” was instituted by the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom, to promote action-orientated thinking, global understanding and cooperation.

The recent edition of the Conversation, a virtual conference, which dwelt on “The Future Economy”, assembled global influencers, financial and economic leaders, academic experts and policymakers, alumni and students to debate contemporary global challenges and identify opportunities to transform economies and support regeneration, recovery, and prosperity for all. Among them were former UK Prime Minister, Gordon Brown; Senior Director of the African Investment Forum, African Development Bank’s flagship investment platform, Chinelo Anohu; the first woman head of a UK clearing bank, Dame Susan Rice; Senior Strategic Advisor for the Wellbeing Economy Alliance, Katherine Trebeck; and Islamic Finance Council UK’s government policy advisory lead, Omar Shaikh, the University’s Vice Chancellor, Professor Peter Mathieson, among others.

VACCINE EQUITY, POLITICAL NATIONALISM

Expectedly, critical issues like investments and vaccines equity/Africa’s aid dependency resonated at the conference.

Headlining the Conversation, former Gordon Brown, said with the benefit of hindsight as UK’s Prime Minister during the global economic meltdown of over a decade ago, global problems such as posed by Covid-19 pandemic needed global solutions. He identified political nationalism at a time the world desperately needed interdependence, as the dominant threat to global economy.

“I believe Africa’s and Asia’s problems that we’ve been hearing about are Europe’s and America’s too and vice versa, as will be our solutions. No one is safe from the pandemic anywhere until everyone, everywhere, is safe.

Our countries will live below its potentials unless no country lives below their potential.

“But here is where my optimism has to be qualified: We will need even greater resilience than the economy showed during the pandemic if we are to overcome what I see as the underlying non-economic forces at work, that threaten economic disruption, division, and divergence in place of decades of convergence; and this is the a real concern for Africa.

“Disruptions, not just because of the very real and deadly threat from future pandemic… but also disruption and division from what I think we’ve got to now accept is the dominant ideology of our age – political nationalism.

“It’s an ‘us versus them’ ideology, which presents itself in rampant protectionism America first, China first, India first, my tribe jingoism. So, nationalism as it is experienced across the world, not patriotism, which is positive nationalism, is actually a danger to the economic growth of the world and of course its very opposite of what we need, which is cooperation to deal with the issues in hand”.

Brown observed that the harmful impacts of this dominant global ideology in a Covid-19 era were most manifest in vaccines hoarding and consequent inequity. He stated that while the advanced countries would have produced 10 billion vaccines in the next six months, more than enough to vaccinate the 92 low-income countries of the world, the vaccines were inequitably distributed.

Consequently, African and other law-income economies continue to experience stunted economic growth, debt rise, migration increase, little social protection, and increased number of the poor.

Brown described the failure to vaccinate the world “even when there are now vaccines available to do so and when we know the economic benefits to countries if it happens” as “the greatest global public policy failure of our time”, ”monumental “moral failure” and a “catastrophe” the world would pay a huge price for. He wondered how the world would ever be able to cooperate to deal with

Gordon Brown even bigger global problems.

“Let’s be clear, this divide between the vaccine rich and the vaccine poor today, arise not because of a shortage supply. We are producing one and half a billion vaccines. It’s a failure to distribute vaccines equitably even when we know that there are 240 million vaccines currently stockpiled in the West and not being used and that in four-month time, there will be 1.1 billion vaccines we do not need, which would have been delivered to European and North American governments, (but) which should have been airlifted to Africa and low-income countries.

“And people will look back and ask if the international community cannot come to the aid of the unvaccinated poor when we have the supply; when we know it’s essential for economic recovery, and when its clearly in everybody’s self interest to do so”, he said.

He rued the weakening of the international organisations like the International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Bank, World Trade Organisation (WTO), among others, and called for their reform and proper resourcing to deal with the global crisis and challenges.

“The IMF is now ineffective, the World Bank is now ineffective, the WTO is neutered, and the World Health Organisation is blamed rather than supported when it does things that are necessary. The international institutions lose that focus and coordination of economic policy is impossible.

“If you are going to have the economic cooperation based on the interdependence that we are talking about, you are going to take nationalism head on”, he added.

The former Prime Minister advocated a new order where Africa, which he said had been so deprived of resources, is in a position to play greater role in global economy.

But while that is awaited, Brown emphaised: “The four powers that are holding the vaccines at the moment Britain, Canada, America, and the European Union - should get round the table, agree that they are going to airlift the vaccines very quickly month by month”.

PUSH FOR PARADIGM SHIFT

However, the Head of AfDB’s Africa Investment Forum, Chinelo Anohu, was of the view that while it would be

Chinelo Anohu good for Africa to be given vaccines, the continent needed more of partnerships and investments to be self-reliant, as it would be far more beneficial for Africans to take their future into their own hands.

“I think there needs to be a paradigm shift from the way we look at collaboration.

Africa is increasingly getting tired of asking for aid when in all honesty we can trade. And that is what we’re now looking to provide at the African Investment Forum, a flagship initiative of the Africa Development Bank, where both domestic and International investors who are looking to invest for profit while fulfilling a need are mobilised to finance projects.

“Yes, there is a moral obligation to be our brother’s keeper, but what you’re seeing now on the continent is a realisation that you have an option not to wait to be given”, Anohu argued.

She, therefore, argued that Africa needed more of international investments and partnerships by the rest of the world, rather than waiting for vaccines equity, as vaccines equity and investments could happen simultaneously.

“A couple of years ago, it was Ebola ravaging the continent. Now it is Covid-19.

There may be something else in the future.

How do we then position Africa to very clearly respond to its own needs without a dependence on aid?

“So, rather than looking to be given vaccines developed in those labs outside Africa by people, some of whom are of African descent, we should be looking at setting up these vaccine plants on the continent.

“Our call now to the rest of the world is to join us, not as aid givers, but as investment partners so that we can chart the course for the future”, she stated.

Anohu and AIF’s position resonates with those of many leading voices on the continent. In 2004, President of Rwanda, Paul Kagame, told the 2nd Ordinary Session of the Conference of the African Union Ministers of Trade: “In Africa today, we recognise that trade and investment, and not aid, are pillars of development.”

In his 2018 address during Ghana’s 61st independence anniversary, President Nana Akufo-Addo, said that Ghana and Africa were already fatigued by aids from the developed nations.

“Even if there were no aid fatigue, and with the best will in the world, and the most charitable governments in place in the socalled donor countries, there will never be enough aid to develop Ghana to the level we want… Aid was never meant to be what would bring us to the status of a developed nation”, Akufo-Addo said.

African attitudes to available Covid-19 vaccines, as shown in the very low number of people presenting themselves for the available vaccines, also speak volumes. This is due mainly to existing trust deficit and conspiracy theories. Many believe, rightly or wrongly, that more Africans could have presented themselves if the vaccines were manufactured locally.

GOING FORWARD

Whether it was Brown and Anohu’s contributions or those of Dame Susan Rice and Omar Shaikh, the takeaway from the Futures Economic Conversations is the need to reinvigorate interdependence and interconnectedness, value economic activities beyond profit and numbers, and support Africa through investments.

Importantly, Anohu’s parting shot did not leave the world in doubt as to what Africa needs more between aids (as represented by vaccines equity) on one hand and investments and partnership on the other.

“The food for thought going forward, is that if you are doing something for far too long and it is not working, it might be time to reflect on what you are doing to be sure you’re doing it the right way. It will be more interesting for us to focus on partnerships, moving from international dependency to investment, not aids.

“I also think that being more focused on the private sector and assisting them through investments to realise many of the potentials that are prevalent on the African continent might be a way of achieving some of these goals as opposed to continually relying on governments.”

However, these investments and partnerships will not come to Africa on a platter of gold. Will the continent insist on the path being charted by the AIF? Will it deepen regional integration to make the continent more competitive? Will the continent’s leaders actively seek commercial and trade engagements, as the future of African trade regime will depend more on what Africa will negotiate, not what Africa deserves? Only time will tell.

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BUSINESSWORLD

NEWS

Agric Stakeholders Rally Support to Boost Cassava Production

Gilbert Ekugbe

Stakeholders from the public and private sector have brainstormed on the way forward to boost cassava production in Nigeria and transform the root crop into a cash cow for the nation.

According to the stakeholders, the national cassava seed development summit would listen to case studies of successful seed entrepreneurs, identify and engage on the policy reforms required to galvanise the cassava seed sector to raise productivity and drive industrial growth projections.

They said that the summit would also promote impactful and economically sustainable seed models and build the capacity of stakeholders for effective seed system coordination and competitiveness.

The International Institute of Tropical Agriculture ((IITA) in a statement stated that Nigeria is the

largest producer of cassava, yield per hectare, but has stagnated at below 10 tons per hectare, making growers in the country uncompetitive, especially in the export market.

But the IITA and the National Root Crops Research Institute (NRCRI), Umudike, have developed varieties with yield potential of more than 30 tonnes per hectare.

“The task is to get the varieties to farmers in an economically sustainable manner and tackle the challenge of low yield, “the Director for Development and Delivery, Dr. Alfred Dixon, said.

Dixon noted that in the last two years, the Building an Economically Sustainable Integrated Cassava Seed System, phase 2 (BASICS-II) has developed a seed system model for cassava that is driving the adoption of improved varieties and creating jobs and wealth for farmers.

He observed that beyond cassava

roots, marketing of improved cassava stems is a new income earner that Nigerian farmers need to take advantage of.

The Executive Director of the Foundation for Partnership Initiatives in the Niger Delta (PIND), Dr. Dara Akala, said that “in 2016, during the first National Summit on Cassava, which PIND and partners facilitated, we did share a vision for cassava becoming an engine of economic growth, targeting a gross value of $5 billion per annum, both in investments and income. Since then, cassava has been steadily gaining recognition and importance in Nigeria as an industrial crop.’’

The 2021 Summit would feature technical sessions to address seed quality and quantity issues regarding policy directions, industry demands, finance, production and marketing, capacity development, productivity enhancement technologies, and legislative frameworks.

OCP Africa, Syngenta Foundation Partners to DriveTomato Production in Nigeria Gilbert Ekugbe The OCP Africa, a global leading company in the production and exportation of phosphate-based fertilizers, has deepened its partnership with Syngenta Foundation for Sustainable Agriculture (SFSA), to boost tomato production in Nigeria.

The partnership, according to the OCP, would also enhance Nigeria’s food security by enhancing tomato production techniques and creating a viable and sustainable business model and linkages around the value chain.

The OCP Africa’s Head of Business Development and Digital Projects, Mr. Akintunde Akinwande, disclosed this at the 2021 onboarding and training workshop held in Kano for the hub managers and extension agents also known as Agripromoters.

Akinwande said so that 20 greenhouses have been established

across major tomato production areas in Jigawa, Kano, Kaduna, Nasarawa and Abuja, with over 20,000 farmers accessing quality seedlings and inputs as well as good agricultural practice trainings on modern production techniques as well as linkages to off take markets and processors.

Akinwande said that the two organisations entered the partnership to leverage their capacities and experience to address challenges that hampered the improvement and consistency in quality of farm yields and two years down the line, he is happy to say their objectives are gradually being achieved thus presenting a proof of concept for future expansion to new areas.

Both organisations leveraged on their flagship projects through the merging of OCP Africa’s Farm and Fortune Hub (FFH) model and SFSA’s Farmers Hub (FH) model.

He added that in two years the

partnership has empowered 20 hub managers to raise over six million seedlings at the greenhouses, with the hub managers earning revenues of over N30 million from the sales of seedlings and other inputs. This has also resulted in the creation of about 300 direct jobs.

SFSA-Nigeria’s Country Program Manager and Training Coordinator, Mr. Gabriel Isaiah, said the project focused on raising healthy seedling to produce vegetables through innovative skills among others as the availability of good seeds and seedlings, quality fertilizer, crop protection and good nursery management are essential.

Isaiah implored the hub managers to pay keen attention because they are going to be ambassadors of the scheme wherever they go and this was why they were picked to be trained so that they will be able to train others.

Power Line Connecting Nigeria to Niger, Others for Completion in 2023 Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja The West African Power Pool (WAPP) North Core Project, a transmission line that will link Nigeria to three countries, will be completed in 2023, Chairman, Executive Board of the regional body, Dr. Sule Abdulaziz, has said.

Abdulaziz, who is also the Acting Managing Director of the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), made this known at the 52nd WAPP executive board meeting which took place as part of the 16th Session of the organisation’s general assembly in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.

While highlighting key project implementation updates, the WAPP head said that the scheme which seeks to interconnect Nigeria, Niger,

Burkina Faso and Benin was at the implementation phase with the procurement process underway.

The project, he said, is expected to be completed by 2023 and is part of efforts of the WAPP to integrate the power systems of West African countries by delivering priority projects, which would ensure that all 14 countries in the mainland are eventually interconnected.

Other projects undertaken within the West African Sub-region he added, include the construction of the 330kV Volta (Ghana) to Lome (Togo) – Sakété (Benin) interconnection line that has been completed and will soon be energised and the WAPP Cote d’Ivoire – Sierra Leone – Guinea (CLSG) line also to be commissioned soon.

He noted that WAPP has continued to make giant strides towards the effective operationalisation of the regional electricity scheme by continuing to harmonise the market rules and agreement by market participants on regulatory issues.

In his comments, SecretaryGeneral of WAPP, Mr. Siengui Appolinaire KI, at the hybrid meeting urged members to be resiliencs despite the several challenges.

“We must at all costs continue our journey towards the ultimate goal of our institution, which is the implementation of a competitive regional electricity market. We absolutely must redouble our efforts to this end, the goal being more than ever within reach,” he said.

Air Peace Clinches Humanitarian Award, Onyema Gets Recognition Chinedu Eze Nigeria’s major carrier, Air Peace has added another feather to its cap by clinching the Humanitarian Airline 2021 Award at the Aviators Africa Tower Awards, which held recently at Radisson Blu Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos.

This is as the Chairman of the airline, Allen Onyema, also received the Changemaker Recognition Award- Breaking Grounds.

According to the organisers, Air Peace got the Humanitarian Award

following its many social investments which have impacted Nigerians in various ways, especially the deployment of aircraft for rescue flights during lockdown last year, corporate philanthropy, massive employment, and other social impact initiatives.

Onyema was chosen for the Change maker Recognition Award because of his successful strides in advancing Nigeria’s aviation industry, including being the launch customer of the Embraer 195-E2 airplanes in the whole of Africa.

Receiving the double awards,

the Chief Operating Officer, Air Peace, Mrs. Oluwatoyin Olajide, who represented Allen Onyema, thanked the organisers of Aviators Africa and dedicated the awards to Nigerians. Speaking on behalf of the Air Peace Chairman, Mrs. Olajide said, “I feel abundantly honoured today with these prestigious Change maker Recognition and Humanitarian Awards for 2021.

“Aviation is an industry I ventured into solely to empower the critical mass of unemployed Nigerians, not to profiteer”.

31

T H I S D AY ˾ TUESDAY NOVEMBER 9, 2021

PROPERTY & ENVIRONMENT Quality Control: Why Roads, Buildings, Infrastructure Collapse in Nigeria Prof. Sunny Eromosele Eboh is the founder of Mudiame University and Managing Director of Mudiame International Limited. Eboh speaks with Bennett Oghifo about the many challenges surrounding quality control and the implications for building and infrastructure collapse in Nigeria

W

hat’s Mudiame International Limited all about?

Mudiame International Limited, is an ISO 17025 accredited Nigerian based testing, calibration and inspection company offering services to the construction, aviation, Oil, Gas and Allied Industries. Our operations are mainly in the area of quality control. We started this about 20 years ago seeing the gap in quality control in the country. Before we started, most of the jobs related to quality control, especially testing, were all done outside the country. Samples for special calibrations and investigation and others were taken out of the country. So we identified that gap and then we developed a system to close it. With the local content law in place in the oil and gas sector, wielding technology became another big issue that operators had to send samples of wielded coupons out of the country and then have to qualify foreigners to carry out the wielding activities in the country because most of the indigenous wielders were not certified. That is a requirement for quality control, especially for insurance of any investment. Foreign investors quite understand the importance of quality control in the aspect of construction business. So, they ensure that comprehensive quality assurance is done.

But then the delay in sending materials abroad and the waste of foreign exchange were part of the reasons we moved in and bridged the gap. So the oil industry has set a standard in the country that we can follow.

It’s not rocket science. It’s not something new, all we need is to comply with best practices.

What is your take on quality assurance in Nigeria?

Obviously, we are far from where we should be. In fact, the failure we are witnessing in infrastructure in the country point to the lack of focus on quality control mechanisms.

We’re seeing the collapse of new and existing structures and infrastructures across the country.

We are lacking from the point of design to periodic assessment and maintenance. There are no integrity tests on our infrastructure. In the past, there were special body on that to monitor for quality control and integrity. We don’t seem to have them anymore or they have abandoned their jobs. It was not until recently that Lagos state government got it right by identifying the gap in quality control and the Ministry of Works and Housing went ahead to engage us as a team party to ensure integrity. We had made a presentation to them and they identified the gap. They searched for a third party to help them get it right, because most of their roads were failing within three to six months. Sincerely, designing and building infrastructure is not as difficult as leaving out quality control measures. Designing is not the problem. The actual problem we have is material testing, quality control and monitoring.

We are seeing roads, building and other infrastructure collapse easily in the country. Why is this so, including the recent collapse of a 21-storey building in Lagos?

There are so many factors responsible. The lack of integrity test is one of the major issue.

Do we actually have a system? Do we actually drive integrity test in the country? No. This is not only about roads and buildings, as country, our oil and gas infrastructure – pipelines are leaking daily, power infrastructure have issue; this is a general problem that cut across sectors of our economy. We do not conduct integrity test to ascertain their lifetime and if they are viable or demand repair. We usually wait for disasters to strike. This is a major problem and the government must be serious to put a system in place. There is need for a policy that will compel every private and public

failure. When you compare the new roads that are constructed in Lagos with what was in place, you will see the gains of quality control. Quality control is meant to be 5 per cent of the cost of the entire project. If you do this you gain 95 per cent back. What you lost to lack of quality control is not all about what you will spend to get the road done again. When construction is going on in a place, the losses to businesses, environment and vehicles operating in that community, that must shutdown is huge. It creates serious problem for commuters because the road must be shutdown. With quality control, the road will be done once and for all and will save government money, time and create multiplier benefits for the economy.

Eboh

institution to comply with quality control.

The new structures that are failing before they are even completed are evidence of the poor system and failure of even the professional bodies, who should advice the government. A lot of the time we don’t even test materials and soil before construction and sometimes when we do we ignore the actual plan and cut corners. So this is where the failure comes from. If you want to identify failure, all you need to do is to put quality control in place. The project specifications must be followed. This specification should have clarified material requirements.

What happens next is quality control but, sadly, a lot of time the quality aspect is not followed. Because if the materials are not tested, you’re most likely going to have failure. If the specifications are not followed during construction, you’re going to have failure. Monitoring is also a critical part of quality control. If there is strict daily and periodic motoring by an institution, they will be able to detect that certain things are not followed and they will raise alarm. There must be no compromise. There must not be corruption or sentiment. Part of the stories on the collapse building in Lagos was that the building was designed for 15 stories but moved to 21. How did we allow that to happen? Where were the people monitoring that project? From the foundation to the materials and the specifications of the project that was designed, things went wrong.

Some newly constructed roads in

the country sometimes fail before the contractors leave site. Does your explanation above also relate to failure of roads network in the country?

Yes. It is still all about the lack of quality control and monitoring. If the rules are designed and strictly followed based on specifications, the materials tested and correction made during project execution, we wont be in this mess. We hardly even conduct road audit. We also do not focus on maintenance. Why do we delight in seeing failing parts of our roads expand. Road should be maintained as soon as failure is noticed. Also, the contractors, especially the multinationals try to comply to their own internal quality control system, while the smaller companies adopt what they want. The multinational, however, cut corners too.

It is the role of the government, both at the Federal and State levels to ensure that they create deliberate policies on quality control. Our company is ready to assist in this, just as we are doing for Lagos State Government.

What exactly are you doing for Lagos State Government and what are the implications or economic benefits?

Roads in Lagos don’t last until the new administration came on board. There are seasoned experts in the current cabinet, especially the adviser to the Governor on works and housing, who understands what must be done to address the recurring failure. We were engaged as a third party to ensure that something is done on road

If the rules are designed and strictly followed based on specifications, the materials tested and correction made during project execution, we wont be in this mess. We hardly even conduct road audit. We also do not focus on maintenance

What is responsible for lack of quality control in Nigeria?

Lack of awareness is one of the reasons.

Nigerians, including government and professional bodies, are yet to understand the need for quality control. Where people are aware, it is easy to compromise because there is no enforcement. When political figures are involved in projects, it is easy to shut people up and the Quality Assurance aspect is not considered, because project is just a way of making money. There is also lack of capacity.

Contracts don’t sometimes go to people who are qualified. The institutions that are also in charge of enforcing standards, like the Standard Organisation of Nigeria, do not have needed capacity to carry out some tests. They are under-equipped and helpless. Most foreign contractors, who have ISO standard only comply based on their own internal stand.

We cannot continue like this.

What are your recommendations to stem these challenges?

There must a deliberate policy or system on quality control. Government at state and federal levels must adopt this and enforce it both in public and private infrastructure. The professional bodies also must wake up. Most importantly, government and private entities building infrastructure must engage a third party on quality control. This is what we are doing for Lagos State. A third party is not likely to compromise when they can be sued and are in business based on integrity. We are concerned about the mess in the system and like we have done in the oil and gas sector, we are willing to contribute our quarter as citizens to address this issue.

The local content board had advocated for the expansion of the scheme in the oil and gas sector to every sector of the economy to build content, monitor and improve in-country capacity. Are you in support of this as solution to the challenges we are facing?

The other day when the Local Content Development and Monitoring Board commissioned an edifice in Bayelsa, I specifically said the building should be the content house for all sectors in Nigeria. In fact, that the building was done by a local contractor tells you the level of success the NCDMB has recorded. If we have tried something and it worked in a sector, we should replicate it. We have made success with local content in the oil and gas sector, thanks to NCDMB and people like Simbi Wabote. As a company, the success we have made today is not without the local content law. Expansion of local content to all sectors will gradually address the failures we are seeing across sectors, build in-country capacity, because the failure of infrastructure is related to lack of capacity. We will also provide more jobs for our contractors and reserve foreign exchange. We are the only people who can solve our problem the most. We need to start building locally made technology and not import every thing.

32

T H I S D AY ˾ ˜ NOVEMBER 9, 2021

BUSINESS/MONEYGUIDE

World Food Price Barometer Surges to New Peak, Highest Level Since July 2011 Oluchi Chibuzor The world food price barometer has surged to a new peak reaching its highest level since July 2011.

This is coming as global cereal production is poised to hit an all-time high with stocks set to decline.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), stated this in it’s Food Price Index report which was released recently.

The FAO Food Price Index, which tracks monthly changes in the international prices of a basket of food commodities, averaged 133.2 points in October, up three per cent or three point nine points from September, rising for a third consecutive month.

According to the report, the

FAO Vegetable Oil Price Index went up nine point 6 per cent in October, hitting an all-time high as the increase was driven by firmer price quotations for palm, soy, sunflower and rapeseed oils.

“Palm oil prices rose for a fourth consecutive month in October, largely underpinned by persisting concerns over subdued output in Malaysia due to ongoing migrant labour shortages, “FAO said.

Similarly the FAO Dairy Price Index rose by two point six points from September, influenced by generally firmer global import demand for butter, skim milk powder and whole milk powder amid buyers’ efforts to secure supplies to build stocks.

By contrast, FAO reported that cheese prices remained largely stable, as supplies from

major producing countries were adequate to meet global import demand.

The reports added that, “The FAO Meat Price Index slipped zero point seven percent from its revised value in September, marking the third monthly decline. International quotations for pig and bovine meats fell amid reduced purchases from China of the former and a sharp decline in quotations for supplies from Brazil of the latter. By contrast, poultry and ovine meat prices rose, boosted by high global demand and low production expansion prospects.

“The FAO Sugar Price Index dropped by one point eight percent from September, marking the first decline after six consecutive monthly increases.

NGX Facilitates Use of Green Bond in Achieving SDGs Objectives, Combat Climate Change

MARKET INDICATORS

Kayode Tokede

MONEY AND CREDIT STATISTICS

The Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) has said that it is facilitating the use of green bond in achieving SDGs objectives and combat climate change.

In a statement, the NGX said it is currently working with leading market stakeholders to build the capacity of existing and potential corporate green bond issuers on green bond issuance process and reporting best practices.

The NGX added that it is also working closely with the Federal Ministry of Environment and Debt Management Office (DMO) on the issuance of the third Sovereign Green Bond in Nigeria.

Nigeria, it noted, joined the global community two weeks ago to review and assess progress being made in the quest to tame climate change and achieve sustainable development.

The NGX added that one of the prominent features was the understanding of the importance of the financial system in the climate change debate.

It said, “On October 28, 2021, Nigerian Exchange Limited participated in the Africa Green Bonds intensive UK & Europe Forum, which brought together policymakers, regulators, issuers, investors and professionals at the forefront of green bonds, ESG performance, climate risk analytics and sustainable investing in Africa and globally.

“NGX participated on the panel on ‘How Exchanges are accelerating the Growth of Sustainable Bonds Market,’ alongside representatives from Nairobi Stock Exchange, JSE and United Nations Sustainable Stock Exchanges. It is noteworthy that the Exchange supports capacity development and investor awareness through X-Academy, its specialized learning centre that offers bespoke capital market and business courses including courses across the Sustainable Finance theme.”

“Globally, climate change is recognised as a real and potentially destabilising threat

to economies and the well-being of people, particularly the most vulnerable.Securities exchanges have a critical role to play in reallocating capital towards the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the targets of the Paris Agreement on climate change. This is even more important in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) where countries are lagging all other regions in the world across various development indicators, including the Sustainable Development Goal global index and the Human Development Index.

“In response to this, NGX, as a member of the Sustainable Stock Exchange Initiative (SSE) since 2013, has a long-standing commitment to foster the growth of sustainable finance in Nigeria. The Exchange recognises the critical need to drive sustainable finance as a tool to accelerate progress towards the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and combat climate change and its impact as enshrined in the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, “it stated.

Maritime Stakeholders Recommend Benin Republic Webb Port System for Nigeria Stakeholders in the Nigerian maritime industry have recommended the advanced Webb Port system being used in neighbouring Benin Republic to the Nigerian government as a way of achieving port efficiency in the country.

Rising from a town hall meeting organised by JournalNGin Lagos, they identified deeper application of technology as a way to achieving an efficient port system in Nigeria.

The Webb Port system, an innovation of Webb Fontaine, an ICT trade solution provider has merged port administration and services integrating government and private sector players in a manner that saves time, prevent revenue loss and reduces risks associated with smuggling and other port related trade malpractices While making a presentation at the event, Managing Director of Webb Fontaine Nigeria Limited, Ope Babalola disclosed that his company has assisted Benin Republic in achieving ICT

port system that harmonised the country’s interests through a single transaction.

He described the system as efficient and productive being a tested and trusted model that links the port community in a virtual room otherwise called single window system Tankian Coulibaly an official from Webb Fontaine in Benin Republic said his company helped in Beninois government to set up a port community integration system called Webb Port.

He added that the system works to holistically unify all relevant stakeholders in the port community through various modules like e-movement for vessel monitoring and e- release after payment of taxes, duties and other levies through a single transaction before goods are released from the port.

President of National Council of Managing Directors of Licensed Customs Agents (NCMDLCA), Lucky Amiwero, explained that the Nigerian port regulatory system is lacking legal backing.

While he supported the Webb Port technology backed system, he added that an enabling law making it’s rules binding on all members of the port community is needed in Nigeria.

President of Association of Nigeria Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA) Iju Tony Nwabunike said port concession in Nigeria was done before the country started thinking about an industry regulator.

“The legal instrument that should come through a legislation or an amendment to the enabling Act of Nigerian Shippers Council is still awaited. It’s almost seven years after President Goodluck Jonathan through a Gazette, granted it regulatory powers on March 2015, but the law is still not in place “Today we are stuck with corporate deviant behaviours by shipping companies, who undermine our national economic interest for their own gains and enjoy a field day due to lack of powers of sanction by law on the part of government.

(MILLION NAIRA)

JANUARY 2021 Money Supply (M3)

38,779,455.43

-- CBN Bills Held by Money Holding Sectors

1,039,129.55

Money Supply (M2)

37,740,325.88

-- Quasi Money

21,779,302.69

-- Narrow Money (M1)

15,961,023.19

---- Currency Outside Banks

2,364,871.13

---- Demand Deposits

13,596,152.06

Net Foreign Assets (NFA)

7,414,275.50

Net Domestic Assets(NDA)

31,365,179.93

-- Net Domestic Credit (NDC)

42,916,586.63

---- Credit to Government (Net)

12,304,773.44

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

0.00

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

0.00

---- Credit to Private Sector (CPS)

30,611,813.19

--Other Assets Net

3,892,112.74

Reserve Money (Base Money

13,264,585.14

--Currency in Circulation

2,831,167.19

--Banks Reserves --Special Intervention Reserves

10,433,417.96 317,234.17

˾ ÙßÜÍÏ ̋

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

˾ ÙØÏÞËÜã ÙÖÓÍã ËÞÏ ̋ ͯͱϱ

OPEC DAILY BASKET PRICE ˜ ͵

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

33

T H I S D AY ˾ ˜ ͷ˜ ͰͮͰͯ

UBA to Redeem Outstanding $500m Eurobond, Mulls Raising Fresh Capital Kayode Tokede United Bank for Africa (UBA) yesterday announced redeeming outstanding $500million 7.750% Eurobond due for maturity 2022, ahead of time through a cash tender offer before issuing a new fresh note.

The Group Company Secretary, Mr. Bili Odum in a statement on the Nigerian

Exchange Limited (NGX) said the a five-year fixed rate benchmark USDdenominated Regulation S/144A Senior Unsecured offering under UBA’s Global Medium Term Note Programme may follow, subject to market conditions.

He stated that towards issuing the fresh dollardenominated note, the Pan-African bank has

P R I C E S MAIN BOARD

F O R

DEALS

commissioned five managers to convene a call for global investors linked to a number of other meeting starting yesterday.

The mentioned five managers are Standard Chartered Bank, Citigroup Global Markets Limited, Renaissance Securities (Cyprus) Limited, United Capital Plc and Mashreqbank psc.

S E C U R I T I E S

MARKET PRICE

QUANTITY TRADED

VALUE TRADED ( N )

The bank’s five-year senior unsecured bond, the first of that kind from the bank when it was offered over four years ago, drew overwhelming interest at the point when it was priced at 7.75 per cent and subscription trumped offer by more than double.

The stock price of UBA traded flat at N8.45 yesterday after the news

T R A D E D MAIN BOARD

A S

The bank had announced impressive performance in its unaudited financial results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2021 The Q3 2021 unaudited results replicated the commendable performance it achieved in the first two quarters of the current fiscal year.

The bank’s Gross Earnings rose to N490.3 billion, up

O F

from N454.4 billion recorded in September 2020, while The group had reported a 37 per cent increase in Profit Before Tax to close at N123.4 billion compared to N90.4 billion recorded at the end of the third quarter of 2020, while profit after tax rose significantly by 36per cent to N104.6 billion up from N77.1 billion recorded a year earlier.

1 1 / 1 1 / 2 0 2 1 DEALS

MARKET PRICE

QUANTITY TRADED

VALUE TRADED ( N)

34

TUESDAY, ΁˜ ͺ͸ͺ͹ ˾ T H I S D AY

NEWS

NEW ARCHBISHOP OF LAGOS PROVINCE...

L-R: Archbishop Humphrey Bamisebi Olumakaiye; Primate Henry Ndukuba and Prof. Motunrayo Olumakaiye at the presentation of Bamisebi Olumakaiye as Archbishop of Lagos Province at The Cathedral Church of Advent Abuja… recently

Military: Presidency, Service Chiefs Committed to End Insurgency Says ISWAP sets up task force to halt surrender of terrorists Discloses 17,000 insurgents gave in to troops in North-east Magashi hints Nigeria facing food insecurity as new threat Kingsley Nwezeh in Abuja Military authorities, yesterday, said the presidency and the service chiefs remained committed to ending the 12-year insurgency in the North-east.

Theatre Commander of the Joint Task Force, Operations Hadin Kai, Maj. Gen. Christopher Musa, who made the disclosure in Maiduguri during a courtesy call on the management of North East Development Commission (NEDC), hinted that so far, 17,000 insurgents had surrendered to troops in the the region.

Reiterating that the presidency, defence minister and the service chiefs were working hard to ensure that the war was brought to an end, he however said the Islamic State of West Africa Province (ISWAP), had even set up a task force to stop the trend of surrendering by their men to the troops.

Meanwhile, the Minister of Defence, retired Maj.-Gen. Bashir Magashi, said the prevalence of the various security threats in Nigeria had adversely affected food security, thereby posing new dimension of threats to the country.

But, while addressing the commitment of the military and the presidency to the war against insurgency, Musa said, "From the presidency, minister of defence, chief of defence staff, service chiefs, everyone is putting hands on deck to see that the menace is ended so that we can have peace in the North-east. We know that if we have peace in North-east, it will transcend to other regions,” he said.

Musa said those that surrendered included combatants, non-combatants and others conscripted against their will and family members.

The war commander stated that the development was a positive one that remained a source of concern for members of Islamic State of West Africa Province (ISWAP), who have started panicking as their hope to inherit Boko Haram fighters had faultered.

This, he said, was responsible for why ISWAP set up a task force to stop the terrorists fromsurrendering, adding that the way the surrendered fighters were managed would motivate more insurgents, who were still in the bush to come out.

He lauded the intervention of the NEDC in areas of humanitarian and infrastructure support in the region and urged it to extend its intervention to the military, particularly, in the rehabilitation of structures and roads to facilitate movement.

Responding, Managing Director of NEDC, Mr Mohammed Alkali, lauded the effective role of the military in restoring peace in the region, adding that the improvement in security in North-east had enabled the commission to embark on various projects and other nonkinetic support in recovered areas.

Alkali, who assured the military of continuous collaboration and support, urged them to sustain the tempo at this critical time of closure of camps in Maiduguri and resettlement of displaced persons to their ancestral homes.

However, Magashi, at the opening of a retreat for Defence Advisers/Attaches Conference, organised by the Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA) on Monday in Abuja, with the theme, “Advancing Counterterrorism Efforts through Enhanced Inter-Agency Cooperation: A Whole of Government Approach”, said the attacks by Boko Haram Terrorists and ISWAP in the North East as

well as banditry and herder/militia in the North West and Central had continued to pose serious security threats to Nigeria.

According to him, the littoral states in the South-south region were plagued with illegal oil bunkering, piracy and militancy while the South-East was challenged with secessionist activities of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).

He added that the South-West region was equally faced with secessionist inclination driven by ethnic agitators as well as occasional tension between herders and farmers.

“The threats currently facing Nigeria and understanding their socio-geographic context is pivotal for adapting appropriate and lasting counter-measures. Regrettably, the prevalence of these threats has continued to endanger not only national security and economic growth, but also food security.

“In particular, food security has been adversely affected with the attendant rise in the prices of food stuff across the country, which portends a new dimension of threat.

“This makes it imperative for the various security agencies in the country to continue to collaborate

to tackle these menaces in order to create an enabling atmosphere for economic activities to thrive and to attract Foreign Direct Investment.

“It also means that the security agencies must explore all avenues within their respective systems to come up with innovative ways of identifying and confronting the challenges facing us as a nation,” he said.

Magashi explained that the Defence Advisers/Attachés system had crucial roles to play by forging understanding and cooperation with the security and defence architectures in their respective countries of accreditation.

Onyebuchi Ezigbo and Folalumi Alaran in Abuja The federal government has disclosed that a total of 5,770,899 persons have been vaccinated so far in the country against COVID-19.

Speaking at the ministerial press briefing on the updates on COVID-19 and cholera outbreaks,

Atiku to release manifesto November 19

The Convener, New Nigeria Group (NNG), Sam Ohuabunwa, yesterday disclosed interest in the 2023 presidential contest under the platform of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

He, however, claimed to have the magical wands to turn the nation around if voted as president in year 2023.

The renowned Pharmacist and former Chairman of the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG), who made his intention known at a media briefing in Abuja, said although membership of his NNG

cut across many other parties, he decided to run on the platform of PDP, because of his determination to run under a truly democratic party with new internal democratic ethos.

"This new direction indicating an enviable reformation was exhibited at its National Convention for the election of party officials at the end of October 2021, during which it peacefully elected a new and competent crop of national leaders.

"The PDP, in our view, has shown that it has learnt some useful lessons during the past sixyears of being in the opposition at the federal level, and seems prepared to correct all mistakes it may have

considered as critical stakeholders in surmounting the myriad of security challenges facing Nigeria.

Monguno, represented by his Principal General Staff Officer, Maj.-Gen. Abubakar Ndalolo, said Nigeria had been adopting both kinetic and non-kinetic approaches in dealing with security challenges, adding that both approaches had been yielding results.

He said that the government also laid emphasis on the integrated approach, which recognised the roles of ministries, departments and agencies as well as the entire society in “tackling our security challenges”.

Over 5.7 Million Nigerians Receive COVID-19 Vaccines, FG Reveals

2023: Ohuabunwa Declares Interest in Presidential Race Deji Elumoye and Chuks Okocha in Abuja

He said the conference would provide participants the opportunity to appraise the shared vision of stemming the tide of insecurity through the integrated efforts of all government entities, the objectives of the government approach.

According to him, the recent achievement of the military and security agencies, who took the fight from all angles to the door steps of the adversaries leading to the surrender of over 14,000 terrorists, was reassuring.

On his part, the National Security Adviser (NSA), retired Maj.-Gen. Babagana Monguno, said the defence Attachés/Advisers were

made when it was in power, and to refocus governance at all levels to the true enhancement of the security, wellbeing and happiness of the citizens in Nigeria.

"We believe that in doing this, the new thinking, the new vision, the new values and the freshness we bring will be in sync with the new mission of the PDP. No doubt, we are fully persuaded that the birth of a new Nigeria, which we espouse will find fulfillment through the platform of the PDP." Meanwhile, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar is expected to release his manifesto of how to save Nigeria on November 19, THISDAY has gathered.

representative of the Executive Director of the National Primary Healthcare Development Agency (NPHCDA), Dr. Abdullahi Garba said: "As at Monday morning, November 8, the agency and its partners at the national and state levels have vaccinated 5,770,899 with the first dose of the COVID19 vaccine out of which 3,146,885 people have received their second COVID-19 vaccine jab.”

He pointed out that the single digit number of vaccinated population was not going to help the country realise the herds immunity required to eradicate COVID-19 pandemic.

Garba further said: "We have realised that one of the reasons for this slow coverage was the few number of vaccination sites in the first phase which provided only two vaccination sites per a local government area. I am pleased to inform you now that the Federal government has made adequate arrangement that guarantee enough vaccines to cover more eligible Nigerians."

He also said in addition to vaccines donated to the country through the COVAX facility, the federal government has procured about 30 million doses of Johnson and Johnson vaccine using domestic resources.

According to him, about eight million doses of vaccines are pres-

ently being distributed across the country under the second phase of the vaccination exercise in the country Also speaking at the briefing moderated by the Minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire, Mrs. Lois Ilori, who represented the Director General of Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) said in terms of the COVID-19 pandemic situation globally over 248 million confirmed cases and over five million deaths had been recorded with more than seven billion vaccines doses administered across the world.

Louis said: “As at today Nigeria has confirmed over 212,000 cases of COVID19 and recorded almost 3000 deaths from the disease."

She said the pandemic has continued to play out differently across countries worldwide.

Notably African have seen severe cases and deaths despite limitations of testing has experienced similar transmission of SARS Cov- 2 virus in its population.

"Regardless of the differing pattern of disease and death seen, the risk of the emergency of SARS Cov- 2 variance capable of invading human immune response is of global concern.

"The delta varient remains the dominate variant globally.

South Korea has been achieving population vaccination mandate."

35

TUESDAY NOVEMBER 9, 2021• T H I S DAY

MARKET NEWS 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

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 05Nov-2021, unless otherwise stated.

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

Bid Price: The price at which Investors redeem (sell) units of a trust or ETF. Yield/Total Return: Denotes the total return an investor would have earned on his investment. Money Market Funds report Yield while others report Year- to-date Total Return.

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

DAILY PRICE LIST FOR MUTUAL FUNDS, REITS and ETFS

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 166.40 167.86 2.80% Afrinvest Plutus Fund 100.00 100.00 8.18% Nigeria International Debt Fund 320.79 320.79 -15.98% Afrinvest Dollar Fund 106.10 107.15 -4.14% 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 9.52% AIICO Balanced Fund 3.29 3.35 -4.70% 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 8.55% Anchoria Equity Fund 140.25 142.02 5.44% info@anchoriaam.com Anchoria Fixed Income Fund 1.14 1.14 -13.95% 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 20.63 21.26 13.78% ARM Discovery Balanced Fund 450.42 464.00 12.50% ARM Ethical Fund 39.71 40.91 17.80% ARM Eurobond Fund ($) 1.09 1.09 -1.00% ARM Fixed Income Fund 0.99 0.99 -5.80% ARM Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 8.45% AVA GLOBAL ASSET MANAGERS LIMITED info@avacapitalgroup.com Web: www.avacapitalgroup.com Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn AVA GAM Fixed Income Dollar Fund 107.15 107.15 5.35% AVA GAM Fixed Income Naira Fund 1,050.05 1,050.05 5.00% AXA MANSARD INVESTMENTS LIMITED investmentcare@axamansard.com Web: www.axamansard.com; Tel: +2341-4488482 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn AXA Mansard Equity Income Fund N/A N/A N/A AXA Mansard Money Market Fund N/A N/A N/A CAPITAL EXPRESS ASSET AND TRUST LIMITED info@capitalexpressassetandtrust.com Web: www.capitalexpressassetandtrust.com ; Tel: +234 803 307 5048 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn CEAT Fixed Income Fund N/A N/A N/A Capital Express Balanced Fund(Formerly: Union Trustees Mixed Fund) N/A N/A N/A mutualfunds@cardinalstone.com CARDINALSTONE ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED Web: www.cardinalstoneassetmanagement.com ; Tel: +234 (1) 710 0433 4 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn CardinalStone Fixed Income Alpha Fund 1.03 1.03 4.38% CHAPELHILL DENHAM MANAGEMENT LTD investmentmanagement@chapelhilldenham.com Web: www.chapelhilldenham.com, Tel: +234 461 0691 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Chapelhill Denham Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 9.09% Paramount Equity Fund 17.38 17.70 8.67% Women's Investment Fund 141.45 143.11 6.30% CORDROS ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED assetmgtteam@cordros.com Web: www.cordros.com, Tel: 019036947 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Cordros Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 8.66% Cordros Milestone Fund 132.77 133.60 13.13% Cordros Dollar Fund ($) 109.69 109.69 5.21% 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 7.96% Coronation Balanced Fund 1.25 1.26 3.89% Coronation Fixed Income Fund 1.41 1.41 -10.96% 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 7.38% EDC Nigeria Money Market Fund Class B 1,000,000.00 1,000,000.00 8.18% EDC Nigeria Fixed Income Fund 1,166.33 1,187.42 1.40% assetmanagement@emergingafricafroup.com EMERGING AFRICA ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED Web:www.emergingafricagroup.com/emerging-africa-assetmanagement-limited/, Tel: 08039492594 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Emerging Africa Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 8.27% Emerging Africa Bond Fund 1.03 1.03 2.76% Emerging Africa Balanced Diversity Fund 1.12 Emerging Africa Eurobond Fund 103.96 FBNQUEST ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD Web: www.fbnquest.com/asset-management; Tel: +234-81 0082 0082 Fund Name Bid Price FBN Bond Fund N/A FBN Balanced Fund N/A FBN Halal Fund N/A FBN Money Market Fund N/A FBN Dollar Fund (Retail) FBN Smart Beta Equity Fund FCMB ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED Web: www.fcmbassetmanagement.com; Tel: +234 1 462 2596 Fund Name Legacy Money Market Fund Legacy Debt Fund Legacy Equity Fund Legacy USD Bond Fund

N/A N/A Bid Price N/A N/A N/A N/A

1.12 11.65% 103.96 3.91% invest@fbnquest.com Offer Price N/A N/A N/A N/A

Yield / T-Rtn N/A N/A N/A N/A

N/A N/A N/A N/A fcmbamhelpdesk@fcmb.com Offer Price N/A N/A N/A N/A

Yield / T-Rtn N/A 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 Balanced Fund N/A N/A N/A Coral Income Fund N/A N/A N/A Coral 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 7.59% Vantage Balanced Fund 2.89 2.96 1.32% Vantage Guaranteed Income Fund 1.00 1.00 4.50% Kedari Investment Fund (KIF) 154.66 154.94 -0.54% Vantage Equity Income Fund (VEIF) - June Year End 1.28 1.32 1.80% Vantage Dollar Fund (VDF) - June Year End 1.06 1.06 3.64% 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 11.95 12.01 14.14% Meristem Money Market Fund 10.00 10.00 10.05% NORRENBERGER INVESTMENT AND CAPITAL MANAGEMENT LIMITED enquiries@norrenberger.com Web: www.norrenberger.com, Tel: +234 (0) 908 781 2026 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Norrenberger Islamic Fund (NIF) 100.70 100.71 7.33% Norrenberger Money Market Fund (NMMF) 100.00 100.00 8.31% 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 1.59 1.62 13.09% PACAM Fixed Income Fund 11.04 11.05 -9.16% PACAM Money Market Fund 10.00 10.00 7.53% PACAM Equity Fund 1.46 1.48 -7.49% PACAM EuroBond Fund 112.41 114.55 2.46% 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 135.21 137.60 12.44% 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 1.07 1.07 10.13% 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 N/A N/A N/A Stanbic IBTC Bond Fund N/A N/A N/A Stanbic IBTC Ethical Fund N/A N/A N/A Stanbic IBTC Guaranteed Investment Fund N/A N/A N/A Stanbic IBTC Iman Fund N/A N/A N/A Stanbic IBTC Money Market Fund N/A N/A N/A Stanbic IBTC Nigerian Equity Fund N/A N/A N/A Stanbic IBTC Dollar Fund (USD) N/A N/A N/A Stanbic IBTC Shariah Fixed Income Fund N/A N/A N/A Stanbic IBTC Enhanced Short-Term Fixed Income Fund N/A N/A N/A UNITED CAPITAL ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD Web: www.unitedcapitalplcgroup.com; Tel: +234 01-6317876 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn United Capital Balanced Fund 1.34 1.36 4.88% United Capital Bond Fund 1.94 1.94 5.74% United Capital Equity Fund 0.93 0.95 16.35% United Capital Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 8.80% United Capital Eurobond Fund 121.35 121.35 5.99% United Capital Wealth for Women Fund 1.09 1.10 6.40% United capital Sukuk Fund 1.07 1.07 6.76% 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 Balanced Strategy Fund 13.12 13.23 10.54% Zenith ESG Impact Fund 14.65 14.81 20.05% Zenith Income Fund 24.61 24.61 2.57% Zenith Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 6.42%

REITS NAV Per Share

Yield / T-Rtn

124.98 54.20

10.62% 7.24%

Bid Price

Offer Price

Yield / T-Rtn

13.96 130.29 103.63 18.02 20.82

14.06 133.53 105.91 18.12 20.92

5.61% 8.35% 4.46% 1.86% 15.29%

Fund Name SFS REIT Union Homes REIT

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

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

3.98 5.60 17.93 1.00 21.87 157.59

4.08 5.70 18.13 1.00 22.07 159.59

6.09% -1.40% 10.66% 6.60% 6.55% -15.11%

NAV Per Share

Yield / T-Rtn

107.28

13.11%

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.

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TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 2021 ˾ T H I S D AY

FOREIGN DESK

COMPILED BY BAYO AKINLOYE

Powerful Iranian General Visited Iraq after Attack on PM A top Iranian general visited Baghdad after the assassination attempt against Iraq’s prime minister and said Tehran and its allies had nothing to do with the drone attack that lightly injured the Iraqi leader, two Iraqi politicians said Monday.

News of the visit came as an Iraqi army general said the investigation into the drone attack against Prime Minister Mustafa alKadhimi is ongoing but that indications point to Iran-backed factions. The general said Monday the drones used in the attack took off from areas east of the capital where Iran-backed militias have influence.

The drone attack was also similar to ones carried out in the past by Iran-backed factions in Iraq. In September, for example, explosivesladen drones targeted Erbil International Airport in the country’s north, where US-led coalition troops are stationed, the army general told The Associated Press. He commented on the condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to speak to the media.

Malawi Welcomes Country’s First-ever Albino Lawmaker Malawi’s parliament Monday welcomed the country’s first-ever elected albino lawmaker when it reconvened after months of recess.

The presence of Overstone Kondowe in Malawi’s national assembly is seen as a victory for albinos who have faced attacks in this southern African country since 2014.

Until last Thursday, when he took the oath of office in the capital, Lilongwe, Kondowe was President Lazarus Chakwera’s special adviser on persons with albinism and disabilities.

The move, following a by-election two weeks ago, comes amid continued attacks on people with albinism in Malawi.

Police records show that there were seven attacks on albinos in the last four months, including killings, attempted abductions, and physical violence. Separately, grave robbers have exhumed corpses to retrieve albinos’ bodies.

Kondowe is also the former president of the Association of Persons with Albinism in Malawi or APAM. As a lawmaker in the national assembly, he says that he will pursue his fight against incidents targeting albinos.

The statistics show that since 2014, more than 170 albinos have been attacked in Malawi because of false beliefs that concoctions mixed with their body parts bring luck and wealth.

Iran Bans Newspaper Linking Supreme Leader to Poverty Iran’s judicial authorities reportedly banned a newspaper Monday for publishing a front-page graphic that appeared to show Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s hand drawing the poverty line in the Islamic Republic amid widespread anger over the nation’s cratering economy.

The semiofficial Mehr news agency said that Iran’s media supervisory body shut down the daily newspaper Kelid after it published a front-page article titled, “Millions of Iranians Living under Poverty Line” on Saturday.

Under the headline, a graphic showed a person’s left hand holding a pen and drawing a red line across the page as silhouettes of people underneath reached up to the line.

The graphic resembled an earlier image of Khamenei writing on a piece of paper with his left hand, a prominent ring on one of

his fingers. His right has been paralyzed since a 1981 bombing.

Latest Zika Outbreak Records 89 Cases in India At least 89 people, including 17 children, have tested positive for the Zika virus in a surge of cases in the Indian city of Kanpur, its health department said on Monday.

First discovered in 1947, the mosquitoborne virus Zika virus reached epidemic proportions in Brazil in 2015, when thousands of babies were born with microcephaly, a disorder that causes babies to be born with abnormally small heads and underdeveloped brains.

“There has been a surge in cases of the Zika virus, and the health department has formed several teams to contain the spread,” Dr. Nepal Singh, chief medical officer of Kanpur district in India’s most populous state of Uttar Pradesh, told Reuters.

The first Zika case in the industrial city of Kanpur was detected on October 23, and the number of cases has increased over the past week.

on the Spanish island of La Palma entered its eighth week Monday, powerful as ever and showing no signs of stopping.

From its official Twitter account, INVOLCAN, the Canary Islands Volcanology Center, reported lava and huge plumes of smoke and ash have been spouting from the crater all day.

Citing a report from Italy’s volcano department, INVOLCAN said the minimum height of the volcano’s plume Monday was 1,600 meters. The eruption has alternately surged and ebbed since September 19, and scientists say the eruption could last for up to three months.

The United States’ special representative for Afghanistan Monday began his first trip to Europe and Asia to discuss developments in the South Asian nation, where almost 23 million people, including children, are threatened with starvation.

Ambassador Thomas West’s first stop will be Brussels, where his discussions with allies and partners will focus on the way forward on Afghanistan.

The United Nations has warned that more than half of Afghanistan’s estimated 40 million population is likely to go hungry this winter unless more funds are forthcoming from donors. The World Food Programme said in a statement Monday that fuel costs are up, food prices are soaring, fertilizer is more expensive, and all of this feeds into the unfolding Afghan crisis.

Australian Who Killed 51 Muslims May Appeal Life Sentence A lawyer for the self-avowed white supremacist who admitted to killing 51 Muslim worshippers at two mosques in New Zealand in 2019 says his client is considering appealing his life sentence.

Tony Ellis said Monday during an interview on Radio New Zealand that his client, 31-year-old Australian Brenton Tarrant, said he suddenly pleaded guilty last year to the shootings in Christchurch because of the “inhumane and degrading treatment” he was subjected to in jail while awaiting trial. Tarrant said he was being denied proper access to lawyers, information and documentation that he could have used to aid in his defence.

His treatment, Tarrant said, affected “his will to carry on” so much that he decided “the simplest way out was to plead guilty.” It was the first time a life sentence without parole had ever been imposed in New Zealand.

Elllis said Tarrant made the claims in a memo to New Zealand’s chief coroner, who has launched a new investigation into the March 15, 2019 attacks in response to demands from the victims’ survivors, who say there are many unanswered questions stemming from the initial investigation.

In addition to the deaths of 51 people, Tarrant also pleaded guilty to 40 charges of attempted murder and one charge of terrorism.

Spain’s La Palma Island Volcano Eruption Enters 8th Week The eruption of the Cumbre Vieja volcano

Putin, CIA Chief Meet over ‘Regional Conflicts’ Russian President Vladimir Putin

US Special Envoy Starts Trip to Discuss Crisis-ridden Afghanistan

discussed regional conflicts and a crisis in ties with the head of the US Central Intelligence Agency, who paid a rare trip to Moscow last week, the Kremlin said Monday.

CIA chief William Burns was in Russia for two days of meetings with top officials at the request of President Joe Biden, the US embassy has said.

CNN reported last week that Burns had been sent to Moscow to warn the Kremlin about the alleged build-up of troops near Ukraine’s border. It said that after his meetings in Russia, Burns spoke to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky by phone.

The Kremlin’s spokesman said on Monday that Putin and Burns discussed bilateral ties, “regional conflicts,” and a crisis in diplomatic relations. He did not provide further details. Burns, who was the US ambassador to Russia in 2005-2008, visited Moscow during a severe crisis in ties between Moscow and Washington.

China Builds Mockups of US Navy Ships in Area Used for Missile Target Practice Chinas military has built mockups in the shape of a US Navy aircraft carrier and other US warships, possibly as training targets, in the desert of Xinjiang, satellite images by Maxar showed on Sunday.

These mockups reflect China’s efforts to build up anti-carrier capabilities, specifically against the US Navy, as tensions remain high with Washington over Taiwan and the South China Sea. The satellite images showed a fullscale outline of a US carrier, and at least two Arleigh Burke-class guidedmissile destroyers had been built at what appears to be a new target range complex in the Taklamakan Desert.

The images also showed a 6-meterwide rail system with a ship-sized target mounted on it, which experts say could be used to simulate a moving vessel.

The complex has been used for ballistic missile testing, the US Naval Institute reported quoting geospatial intelligence company All Source Analysis.

37

TUESDAY, ΁˜ ͺ͸ͺ͹ ˾ T H I S D AY

THE ALTERNATIVE

with RenoOmokri

How Power of Habit Can Catapult You Into Prosperity

M

any people who have never invested in a book will spend their money on booze and still wonder why they are not as rich as people who read and apply what they read.

Take our nation. We have one of the world’s largest breweries yet have very, very few libraries! It is the same thing with industry. We have the world’s largest churches (Google it), and hardly any industry.

Our fastest growing industry is population explosion. When it rains, our people vex! The next thing is sex! You know what comes next. Meanwhile, other nations see rains as a productive time for mechanised agriculture. Am I lying?

You have to understand that poverty is an ideology, and it is driven by specific ideas and habits that tilt people towards lack.

I broke it down into five or six ideas.

Why are people poor?

Marry even when you don’t have a job or business Have kids anyhow because they are God’s gift, and God will provide Start going to church, not for the love of God, but in search of ‘miracle’ money Pray for money and mistake laziness for faith Give your many children limited education Wait for them to grow and repeat the poverty cycle by pressuring them to marry when they have no job or business You see, lack of money is not the cause of poverty. Lack of ideas is the reason for poverty. Because money follows advice.

One reason many people are poor is that they are looking for money. If you look for money, you will hardly find it.

Instead, look for wisdom. When you find wisdom, you won't have to look for money.

It will be money that will look for you like it did with Solomon.

The reason why you have lots of wars in Africa and Asia is because of poverty.

A hungry man is an angry man. And that is why my little contribution to addressing the pervasive poverty in the world is teaching people how to prosper.

Because hardly anything can calm you down like money. If a big electricity bill comes, you remain calm. School fees are increased, you stay calm. Someone bashes your car, you keep calm. Why? Because money solves problems. That is why you should do everything possible to make money legally.

Read a book for 15 minutes daily. Learn a new word daily. Find someone who is already successful in a field you want success in and cultivate that person.

Do you know why many people are in torment and poverty? They have 500 Facebook friends, 5000 Twitter followers, and 50000 Instagram followers. But they don’t have even one mentor. Read Scripture.

NOBODY in Scripture succeeded without a mentor.

A mentor shortens your journey from effort to success. Christ told Peter what side of the boat to fish in and he caught surplus fish. Without Christ, Peter would have continued misapplying his energy.

Life without a mentor can be tormenting.

By studying your mentor, you should know the difference between your needs and your wants. When you do, you won’t buy an iPhone 13, when you have 13 more pressing needs.

You should know yourself to a very high degree. Know your strengths and your weaknesses. If your enemies know your weakness and you don’t, they can destroy you by feeding your weakness.

Have power over your thoughts. Don’t

Omokri, with one of his mentors, former Chairman of the US Federal Reserve Bank, Alan Greenspan.

just think whatever enters your mind. If you don’t have power over your own thoughts, it is very unlikely that God will give you power over people. Because if He does, evil forces can control those people by controlling your mind.

Decide where you want to go in life.

If you don’t know where you are going, any road will look like the right way.

Then formulate plans and goals with dates and time attached to them.

These habits may look like small steps, but do not underestimate the big difference small changes make. 40% of our daily actions are driven by habits. Aristotle said, “we are what we repeatedly do.”

Thus form these habits and these habits will form the basis for your prosperity.

And very importantly, get rid of the entitlement mentality that makes you think your relatives owe you something.

Other than your parents, God did not put anyone on Earth to provide for your welfare!

God did not put anyone on Earth to live up to your expectations, neither did He

put you on Earth to live up to anyone’s expectations.

God gave us each a head to decide how to help ourselves, and two legs to take us there.

That someone refuses to help you or give you what you asked does not make them bad. If you pray for their downfall because of their refusal, you are the one who is evil. And who knows, perhaps your poverty is as a result of your evil prayers bouncing back on you!

Because Scripture says, “the curse causeless shall not come”-Proverbs 26.2.

So when you pray evil prayers against a person for the simple reason that he or she refused to help you, that curse will hit them and immediately bounce back, and finding no place to rest, it returns to rest on you!

I hate poverty with a passion, and have made it my life’s work to teach people practical steps to escape poverty, because you cannot fight poverty by throwing money at people. You just create dependency. But by teaching people the attitudes,

skills, and habits that lend themselves to wealth, you create independence and interdependence, which are states of maturity that are very conducive to wealth.

And that is what I have tried to do in this piece, and hope my readers would put them to practice and benefit from them.

Reno’s Nuggets Don’t let loneliness take you back to toxic people. If you return to an abusive relationship or an unbalanced friendship, because of loneliness, then you add stupidity to your loneliness, making it worse! Always remember that loneliness is better than uselessness!

Learn to enjoy your own company. Learn to rely on yourself. Christ spent 40 days and nights in the wilderness and He came out stronger. Use your time of loneliness as your own wilderness period and come out stronger. You were born alone and you will die alone. So learn to stand alone! #RenosNuggets #FreeLeahSharibu

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TUESDAY NOVEMBER 9, 2021 ˾ T H I S D AY

NEWS

Detained Southern Kaduna Activist Raises the Alarm over His Safety

John Shiklam in Kaduna

The Spokesman of the Southern Kaduna Peoples Union (SOKAPU), Mr. Luka Biniyat, has raised the alarm over his safety in detention.

Biniyat, was arrested last week following alleged “defamation of character, injurious falsehood and incitement of public disturbance”, levelled against him by the Kaduna state commissioner for Internal Security and Home Affairs, Mr. Samuel Aruwan.

In a WhatsApp message he sent on Monday, Binniyat said he had been in detention for four days without trial.

According to him, he was “smuggled” from the Gabasawa police cell to a small and dingy cell at the Chief Magistrate Court Barnawa and dumped in the midst of hardened looking criminals.

The WhatsApp message reads: “They brought me to Barnawa Chief Magistrate Court, Kaduna and clamped me in a tiny, dingy, crammed jail with some harden looking criminals.

“I was smuggled here from the police detention facility in Gabasawa police station after

four days without trail and dehumanissing cell condition.

“I am yet to be taken before a judge. I fear that my life is in danger. I just managed to get this phone”.

Aruwan had at a news

conference on Sunday, alleged that Binniyat, in a report published online, allegedly quoted Senator Danjuma Laah, representing Southern Kaduna Senatorial District, as stating that he (Aruwan) was being

used to cover up a genocide against Christians in Southern Kaduna.

“I wish to address you this afternoon on recent disturbing allegations leveled against me, amounting to defamation of

character, injurious falsehood and incitement of public disturbance”, Aruwan said.

He said, “On 29th October 2021, my attention was drawn to an online publication authored by one Luka

Binniyat. “In this publication, Mr Binniyat quoted Senator Danjuma Laah of the Southern Kaduna Senatorial District, as stating that I am being used to cover up a genocide against Christians in Southern Kaduna.

WELL DESERVED AWARD…

L-R: Group CEO, First Primus, Mr. Seni Adetu; General Manager, Corporate Communications, BUA Group, Mr. O’tega Ogra, and Publisher/CEO, Marketing Edge Magazine, Mr. John Ajayi, during the 2021 Marketing Edge Summit and Awards where BUA Group received the ‘Marketing Edge Outstanding Indigenous Conglomerate of the Decade’ award in Lagos…recently

Troops Repel ISWAP Olojeme: EFCC Presents First Witness Attack on Military in Alleged N1.3bn NSITF Fraud Base in Borno Kingsley Nwezeh in Abuja

A military base in Tamsukawu, a village in Kaga local government of Borno State yesterday afternoon came under attack. Fingers have started pointing at Islamic State of West Africa Province (ISWAP), a rival terrorist group to Boko Haram, as the prime suspect for the attack.

However, the attack was successfully repelled by the military but it is still unclear if there were any casualties.

Civilians in the village, who were resettled in 2018, scampered to safety in their homes even though they were apparently not the target for today’s attack.

Tamsukawu, located along the Maiduguri-Damaturu Highway is about 80 kilometers from Maiduguri, the capital city.

Yesterday’s attack is the second in one week, around the same village.

Last Tuesday, the terrorists

reportedly laid ambush on the highway along with a notorious terrorist crossing point near the Tamsukawu bridge and abducted travellers.

Last week’s incident also happened at about 3 pm.

The incident took place near a bridge between Tamsukawu and Ngamdu town at about 3 pm.

Unverified reports indicate that the ISWAP recently appointed new commanders under the purported directive of their foreign collaborators at the ISIS headquarters.

The change in command is to midwife logistics support for special missions in Baga, Marte, and Malamfatori in Abadam where the Borno State Governor, Babagana Zulum was recently attacked during a routine inspection of rehabilitation aimed at resetting indigenes of that place

by November 27.

The trial of a former Chairman of Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF), Dr. Ngozi Olejeme, continued yesterday before Justice Maryam Hassan Aliyu of the Federal Capital Territory High Court, Jabi, Abuja, with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, (EFCC), presenting

its first witness.

Olejeme is facing a nine count charge bordering on criminal conspiracy, abuse of once, diversion of public funds and money laundering to the tune of over N1bn.

An EFCC statement said she was first arraigned on October 21, 2021.

At the resumed hearing, the

prosecuting counsel, Mr. Steve Odiase, presented the first prosecuting witness, Salihu Dantsoho Sadiq, a Bureau de Change operator.

The witness narrated how he met Henry Sambo, an employee of the NSITF, who is on the charge.

Sadiq told the court that sometime in 2014 at First Bank, Abuja, Sambo approached

him and requested for foreign exchange.

“He transferred the money into my account the same day the transaction started and the transaction involved hundreds of millions in about eight to ten tranches. He did not know my office, but he normally sent his driver for the transaction,” he stated.

Police Arraign Woman for Alleged N6.1m Fraud The Police yesterday arraigned a 43-year-old woman, Ogunlowo Bolanle, before an Ado-Ekiti Chief Magistrates’ Court for alleged N6.1 million fraud.

The defendant, of no fixed address, is standing trial on a one-count charge of fraud.

The Police Prosecutor, Insp.

Oriyomi Akinwale, told the court that the defendant and others at large, committed the

offence between December 16, 2019 and April 21 in Ejigbo Area, Ado-Ekiti.

Akinwale said the defendant collected the sum of N6.1 million from the complainant, Mr Samuel Ayobabalola, on pretext of helping him to obtain a N90 million loan from the federal government.

The police prosecutor said the accused person failed to obtain

the said loan and converted the money to her own use.

Akinwale said the offence contravened Section 419 of the Criminal Code, Laws of Ekiti State, 2012.

He urged the court to adjourn the case to enable him to study the file and assemble his witnesses.

The defendant pleaded not guilty to the charge.

Counsel to the defendant, Mr. Timi Omotosho, urged the court to grant his client bail with a promise that she would not jump bail.

In his ruling, the Chief Magistrate, Mr. Michael Faola, granted the defendant bail in the sum of N200,000 with two sureties in like sum.

He adjourned the case until December14 for hearing.

Ikoyi Collapsed Building: Lagos Fresh Crisis Hits Ondo PDP as Former Senatorial Assembly Seeks Compensation Candidate Drags Party to Court party.

Government Area of the this matter. The court now, Fidelis David in Akure for Bereaved Families In a law suit filed by his state, said he approached the meaning the Supreme Court Lagos House of Assembly has called on Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu to compensate families of the victims of the collapsed 21-storey building in Ikoyi.

The lawmakers also urged the governor to direct relevant agencies to ensure that all requirements for buildings, as stipulated in the extant laws of the state, were strictly adhered to.

The assembly arrived at the resolution, sequel to a motion moved by Mr Nurein Akinsanya (Mushin I), during plenary yesterday in Lagos.

Akinsanya, who is the Chairman, House Committee on Physical Planning and Urban Development, expressed worries over the incessant collapse of

buildings in the state.

He said: “The House expresses worries over the wide speculations that the building was raised to 21 floors, contrary to the 15 floors approved by the State Physical Planning Permit Authority (LASPPPA) for the owner.

“This house is also worried that over time, the state has recorded series of building collapse, like the five-storey building that collapsed in Lekki in November 2006 and the three-storey building that collapsed in Ita Faaji, Lagos Island in 2016, among others.

“The house is disturbed about the manner in which the agencies set up to inspect building works, gives certifications at various stages of construction.

The crisis in the Peoples’ Democratic Party(PDP) in Ondo State is deepening as the party’s candidate for Ondo North Senatorial seat in the 2019 general elections, Dr. Olusegun Philip-Alonge, (Popularly known as ‘Opa Isegun’), has dragged the party to court for illegally suspending him from the

lawyer, Mr. Akin Jinadu, Philip-Alonge sued the party claiming the sum of N100, 000, 000 to be paid as general damages and for failing to include his name as delegate in the last national convention of the party.

Alonge, while briefing journalists at Ugbe-Akoko, in Akoko North West Local

judiciary because the party’s internal issues resolution mechanism failed woefully.

He alleged that “the South-west and national bodies did not deem it fit to reply to my humble and well-meaning request for resolution. At this point, I am committed to allowing the court to do justice to

of Nigeria.”

Philip-Alonge accused the State Chairman of PDP, Mr. Fatai Admas, of being saddled with a divisive, destructive, retrogressive, undemocratic, dysfunctional, and tyrannical management and leadership that has time and again sabotaged the party’s ability to win elections.

Lokoja Varsity to Engage 60 Hunters for Campus Security Ibrahim Oyewale in Lokoja As part of efforts to ensure adequate security of lives and property at the permanent site of Federal University, Lokoja, the management has vowed to employ the service of no fewer than 60 local hunters to beef up

security in the institution.

The Vice Chancellor of the Institution, Professor Olayemi Akinwunmi, disclosed this while speaking during press briefing marking commencement of 5th Convocation of the Federal University Lokoja yesterday.

Olayemi explained that with

the movement to the permanent site of the University, the safety of lives of the management, staff, students and property of the institution is very sacrosanct, stressing that the management is not leaving any stone unturned.

He added that the management had arranged with Police authority,

Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps and as well as local hunters to boost security in and around the University campus.

Akinwunmi stated that the University authority will engage the service of 60 local hunters to complement the other security agencies.

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NEWS XTRA

Crisis Rocks Imo Assembly as Lawmakers Remove Speaker, Deputy Amby Uneze in Owerri Legislative activity in Imo State House of Assembly was yesterday brought to its knees Assembly, as within one week, various impeachments have greeted the Assembly.

Lawmakers of the Assembly yesterday in a commando-style carried out an impeachment of the Speaker, Mr. Paul Emeziem.

He was promptly replaced with Mr. Kennedy Ibe, a ranking member, who represents Obowo state constituency.

The exercise was carried out amid tight security with 19 of the 27 lawmakers said to have signed the impeachment papers.

THISDAY reliably gathered that Hon Amara Iwuanyanwu, who was impeached as the deputy speaker last week, stormed the chambers with six lawmakers and some security personnel to execute the impeachment of the Speaker.

Iwuanyanwu was removed on November 2, 2021, through a resolution signed by 18 out of the 27 lawmakers of the Assembly,

which was presented before the plenary on allegation of highhandedness, arrogance and misconduct. Representative of Orsu state constituency, Mr. Ekene Nnodim, submitted the resolution.

Receiving the resolution, the now impeached Speaker, Paul Emezim, said: “Since this resolution was signed by 18 members out of the 27, the resolution stands.”

In July this year, Emezim pronounced an indefinite suspension of six lawmakers, accusing them of engaging in ‘un-parliamentary conduct’.

The affected lawmakers were Kennedy Ibe (Obowo), Uche Ogbuagu (Ikeduru), Anyadike Nwosu (Ezinihitte Mbaise), Onyemaechi Njoku (Ihitte Uboma), Philip Ejiogu (Owerri North), and Dominic Ezerioha (Oru West).

The suspension had resulted in pandemonium at the plenary, as gunshots rented the air before the Speaker was shielded out of the Assembly complex.

Incidentally, the Assembly announced the recall of the suspended members the day the deputy speaker was

IPMAN Constitutes Task Force to Check Hoarding of Petrol Ibrahim Shuaibu in Kan The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, (IPMAN) has constituted a task force committee to check hoarding of petroleum and avoid scarcity of the product in the country.

THISDAY gathered that queues have resurfaced at many filling stations across the country, while many others have closed down their activities, causing panic among people in the country.

However, in a statement issued to THISDAY in Kano, yesterday the Chairman of IPMAN, Kano zone, Bashir Dan-Mallam, said the association had formed the committee, in collaboration with Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, to check hoarding of the commodity at filling stations.

According to Dan-Mallam, any marketer found culpable of hoarding the product would

be dealt with, emphasising that IPMAN would not allow some unscrupulous elements within its fold to inflict hardship on innocent Nigerians.

He disclosed that 210 tankers of petroleum were loaded with the product for distribution nationwide yesterday.

The chairman, therefore, called on the citizens not to panic as the product being supplied would be more than enough for their consumption.

He assured the people that the problem would not last long as IPMAN, in collaboration with NNPC, is on top of the situation to ensure the availability of the product.

“I urge people not to panic.

That panicking is what causes long queues at filling stations because people have the impression that the petrol would be scared, that is why you see somebody with five cars and jerry cans come to the filling station to buy fuel.

This is what causes congestion.

Goje Petitions IG over Alleged Assassination Attempt on Him Deji Elumoye in Abuja A former Governor of Gombe State, Senator Danjuma Goje, has petitioned the Inspector General of Police, Alkali Baba, over alleged assassination attempt on his life and his personal Assistant, Adamu Manga by the Aide-De-Camp and Chief Security Officer (CSO) to the Gombe State Governor, SP Zulaidaini Abba and Sani Bajoga respectively.

The ranking Senator, who is the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Marine Transport, in a four-page petition entitled, “Attempt to Assassinate Senator Muhammad Danjuma Goje

and his personal Assistant, Adamu Manga by AP/ No:118814 Zulaidaini Abba and AP No:57675, Sani Adamu Bajoga, the ADC and CSO to the governor of Gombe State respectively and the unprovoked assault and damages on the persons and vehicles of his admirers in Gombe”, dated November 8, 2021 and written by his lawyer, V C Nwadike Esq asked the Inspector General of Police to investigate the matter with aim of bringing the affected officers involved to justice by prosecuting them after disciplinary action might have been taken against them.

impeached.

Emezim said the legislators had repented, hence the decision to lift the suspension.

Speaking to THISDAY on the phone, Emeziem expressed surprise at his impeachment, adding that the impeached

Deputy Speaker, Iwuanyanwu, was unfit to preside over his ‘purported’ impeachment.

While dismissing the

impeachment as an ‘exercise in futility’, he said he would consult the governor before making further comment.

RECOGNITION IN LEADERSHIP……

Governor of Lagos State, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu (left), and Director General, Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dr. Bashir Jamoh at the Zik Leadership Prize awards ceremony in Lagos… recently

Air Force Sergeant Arrested in Connection with Attack on NDA The air force has arrested Torsabo Solomon, a sergeant, in connection with the attack on the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA) in Kaduna.

Concerns were raised last August when two officers were killed and one other officer abducted following the NDA attack by suspected bandits.

However, Solomon was

arrested yesterday at the NAF’s 153 BSG in Yola, Adamawa state capital.

It was gathered that the order to arrest him was said to have come from IM Yusuf, a major-general and the commandant of the NDA. Solomon is currently serving at Air Force Comprehensive School in Yola.

The personnel is also

suspected of selling arms and ammunition to bandits and criminals.

Following his arrest, he was said to have been taken to the NDA in Kaduna for further investigation.

In the wake of the NDA attack, the presidency had described the incident as a deliberate attempt to make the government look bad and

discourage the military in its fight against insecurity.

“The NDA attack was meant to throw a dampener into the morale of our military. And the negative chorus, always on standby, is reinforcing the intention. But some people know better, and they will not be discouraged,” Femi Adesina, presidential spokesperson, had said.

P&ID Contract: FG to Probe Nine Contracts Signed By Past Govts without Due Process

Deji Elumoye and Emameh Gabriel in Abuja

The federal government has resolved to set up a panel to investigate nine contracts signed by previous administrations which were in breach of due process and procurement procedures.

The Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, made this known yesterday, when he

appeared to defend his Ministry’s 2022 budget estimate before Senate Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters headed

by Senator Opeyemi Bamidele.

Malami hinted that the P&ID contract, which was signed without due process and procedure has the capacity to rip off $10 billion from Nigeria.

It would be recalled that in 2017, the tribunal awarded P&ID $6.6 billion as damages against

the Nigerian Government.

Subsequently, the amount grew to the about $8.9 billion with an additional $2.3 billion in accumulated interest at seven per cent rate per annum following Nigerian government’s refusal to enter an appeal for over five years.

There is presently a legal tussle on the matter in a London Commercial Court.

Malami explained that the

P & ID contract did not pass through the office of the Attorney General and in the account of that, there were embedded in the contract clauses that were inimical to Nigeria’s interest.

The AGF also disclosed that N1.1 billion would be set aside for a Taskforce in 2022 to carry out holistic Investigation on nine other contracts signed against the interest of the country by previous administrations.

Youths Protest Rising Insecurity, Lack of Infrastructure in FCT Some youths in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) yesterday decried the spate of insecurity in the nation’s capital.

The youths under the aegis of FCT Youths Stakeholders Forum also lamented the state of infrastructure in Abuja.

According to them, there had been a decline in governance and quality of service delivery in FCT in the last few years.

Addressing journalists during a protest at the FCT secretariat, one of the leaders of the group, Ahmadu Yunusa said the situation in the nation’s capital “resembles communities with absence of a government”.

He said: “Within the last few years, the Forum has noted a decline in governance and quality of service delivery in FCT which has led to the rise in insecurity,

infrastructural deficit, drop in the quality of education and health service delivery, ineffective transport system, and increase in the number of ungoverned spaces in the FCT, etc.

“Gradually, the situation of FCT is beginning to resemble communities with absence of a government.

“The inability of the management of the FCTA to

actively engage stakeholders to find lasting solutions to some of these challenges is one of the factors hindering effective service delivery in FCT.” He, however, demanded that the current security architecture be overhauled, adding that the security agencies should be strengthened to stem the tide of the rising insecurity among others.

Abiodun Reads Riot Act to Building Contractors James Sowole in Abeokuta Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun yesterday read the riot act against sharp practices in building structures.

He also warned that his administration would not hesitate to prosecute any official of the state government or contractor indicted for compromising standards in erecting structures.

Abiodun added that if such official or contractor was found

guilty of compromising safety and standards, he or she would be jailed.

Abiodun gave this warning yesterday, during the Treasury Board Meeting on Year 2022-2024 Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and the 2022 Budget held at the Obas’ Complex, Abeokuta.

“I am coming up with a law that will send workers in the building industry to prison. Workers in this agencies

responsible for building control are susceptible to taking bribes.

I am going to ensure that there is something in our law that will send head of building control agency to prison if a building collapses in Ogun State under their watch.

“The preoccupation of those responsible for building control should not just be revenue but to ensure due process and best practices in consonance with the State Building Control

Regulations.

“If somebody was given approval to construct a storey building and you find out that the person has started decking for the second floor, you give him a stop order and penalty for exceeding the original approval.

That is not enough; the penalty should be punitive. Yes, I want to see the money but, I am more concerned about the welfare, well-being and wellness of our people,” the governor said.

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NEWS XTRA

Navy: Inadequate Arms, Jetties, Others Impeding Our Performance Udora Orizu in Abuja The Nigerian Navy yesterday lamented that inadequate jetties, arms and ammunition are hampering their performance.

Chief of Naval Staff, Rear Admiral Awwal Zubairu Gambo made this known while defending the 2022 budget before the House of Representatives Committee on Navy chaired by Hon. Yusuf Gagdi.

Addressing the lawmakers, he said other issues impeding their performance include obsolete logistics, huge material and personnel cost for maintaining seized and arrested vessels and baggies and shortage of barracks accommodation.

He said: “The immediate challenges to the Nigerian Navy operational efficiency include inadequate platforms, jetties, arms and ammunition and obsolete logistics support facilities. Others are huge material and personnel cost for maintaining seized and arrested vessels and baggies and shortage of barracks

accommodation amongst others.

Some of the key challenges are briefly highlighted in the brief before you.”

Reviewing the 2021 budget performance, Gambo explained that the capital budget of N25.3 billion was appropriated for year

2021 and has so far been fully released.

According to him, the released funds has been used to fund

implementation of critical projects.

On 2022 budget proposal, the Naval Chief said that a total

of N220,236,832,129.64 was proposed but was slashed to N25.8 billion by the Ministry of Budget and National Planning.

CELEBRATING GOLDEN JUBILEE…

L-R:Past President, Association for Consulting Engineering in Nigeria (ACEN), Dr. Joseph Afolayan; President, Mr. George Okoroma; Chairperson, Committee of the 50th Anniversary, Mrs. Mayen Adetiba and Past President, Mr. Kadir Adeola ,at the media briefing to announce the Golden Jubilee of ACEN in Lagos...yesterday ETOP UKUTT

Expert Urges Youths to Invest Ekiti 2022: Oni Warns PDP Not to Don’t in Kolanut Plantation Gamble with Candidates Yinka Kolawole inOsogbo

Yoruba youths had been advised to boost the revenue of the South Western region by investing in kolanut plantation.

This advice was given by Babalaje Oko Oba Age, Lagos, Mr. Abimbola Taiwo during the inauguration of Omo Oodua Kolanuts Growers and Sellers Association of Nigeria (OKGSAN), in Ile-Ife, Osun State.

Taiwo said that large scale cultivation of the kolanut was a veritable avenue to economic wealth.

He lamented that only aged men and women between the ages

of 60 and 70 still plant kolanuts and urged youths to venture into kolanut plantation, adding that an efficiently managed cultivation of kolanut plantation was capable of creating job opportunities for the teeming Yoruba youths.

“Beyond the tradition of using kolanut to promote unity, establishing kolanut plantations in many parts of the South-west geopolitical zone could provide jobs and revenue to the people.

“I want to appreciate the organisers of this programme for the opportunity given to me today to come and say something about on the economic importance of kolanut in our economy,” he said.

Bauchi Moves to Strengthen Monthly Sanitation Exercise Segun Awofadeji inBauchi Bauchi State Government has to organised a one-day roundtable discussion and stakeholders’ engagement on mandatory monthly environmental sanitation with a target of improving and strengthen the conduct of the exercise in the state.

Declaring the session opened yesterday, the State Commissioner for Environment and Housing, Hon. Hamisu Mu’azu Shira, expressed optimism that the outcome of the

discussion will assist the ministry and Bauchi State Environmental Protection Agency (BASEPA) in particular, in the strategic planning of conducting the environmental sanitation.

The commissioner said the discussion tagged, “Maiden monthly environmental sanitation forum in Bauchi State,” is part of the current administration’s efforts for inclusiveness towards improving public health by ensuring clean environment for healthy living, economic growth and prosperity.

N’Delta Group to Unveil Five Demands Feb 2022

Sylvester Idowu in Warri

An urgent need for the Nigerian Constitution to be revised as recommended in the National Conferences convened in recent times, was top among five critical demands included in the Niger Delta Peoples Charter to be unveiled February 23, 2022.

President of Niger Delta Congress (NDC), Nubari Sataah, who made the disclosure in a press statement on Sunday in Warri, Delta State, noted that February 23, 2022, was chosen as preferred date for the unveiling, to commemorate the 55 years anniversary of ‘Niger Delta Republic’ as declared by late

Isaac Adaka Boro in Kaiama in the present day Bayelsa Statein 1967.

According to Sataah, signing of the Niger Delta Peoples Charter, which would be done by representatives of the 70 ethnic Nationalities that make up the Niger Delta, representatives of organisations in the Niger Delta as well as representatives from states that make up the region: Edo, Delta, Bayelsa, Rivers, Akwa Ibom and Cross River States, commenced with Prof.

Ebiegberi Joe Alagoa, signing the adopted Charter at his country home, Nembe in Bayelsa State, on behalf of the state, on Thursday November 4.

Victor Ogunje in Ado Ekiti A former governor of Ekiti State, Segun Oni, has warned the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) against gambling with the choices of its governorship candidates in the two states of Ekiti and Osun next year.

Oni said the PDP must be “decisive, deliberate and direct” in picking popular candidates with track records and name

recognition to have the chances of winning the way Governor Willie Obiano did for All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) in Anambra State.

Oni, a PDP governorship hopeful in Ekiti State, said this in Ado Ekiti on Monday in a statement issued by the Director General of his campaign organisation, Hon. Yemi Arokodare.

“While our party must

learn from the outcome of the Anambra governorship elections, and the pattern of voting, it is evident to everyone that Governor Obiano and APGA, who had dipped in popularity in the last two years, deliberately went for a popular candidate in Chukwuma Soludo to keep hope alive.

“The choice of Soludo has paid off because the people

could easily connect with his visible track records and popularity in the state, country and beyond, and Anambrarians decided to give him a chance.

“After a successful convention and the prospects of displacing a fumbling ruling party at the center in 2023, the PDP cannot afford to gamble over the choices of its governorship candidates in Ekiti and Osun States.

Women Advocate Zero Gas Emission in Niger Delta Blessing Ibunge in Port Harcourt

Hundreds of women from Ogoni ethnic nationality in Rivers State have advocated for zero emission in the Niger Delta region.

The women, who hail from crude oil-impacted communities in Ogoni, also joined environmental justice advocates globally to demand climate Justice.

The women spoke yesterday

at a climate change programme organised by Lokiaka Community Development Centre at Saakpenwa, Tai Local Government Area of the state.

The Executive Director of Lokiaka, Mrs. Martha AgbaniBarinuazor, said the event is in commemoration with the world demand on climate justice.

Agbani-Barinuazor said: “Today, all over the world, environmental enthusiasts and lovers of justice are

mobilising and marching for environmental justice calling on world governments at the 26th Conference of Party (COP 26) on Climate Change to implement the Paris Agreement and other outcomes of previous COPs to end the global climate crisis.

“Lokiaka Community Development Centre was, therefore, doing so in solidarity and pushing for zero emission in Ogoni land and the Niger Delta region.”

She said the action was very timely owing to the fact that nations are already transitioning to renewable and more sustainable energy, adding that Nigerian Government still reserved 30 percent of its oil revenue derivation for new oil operations.

The Lokiaka chief said she and participants at the programne would be culminating the day’s event with a climate justice march.

Vedic Lifecare Hospital Restates Commitment to High Standards Sunday Okobi The management of Vedic Lifecare Hospital in Lekki, Lagos State, has expressed its commitment to the highest standards of professionalism and ethics, adding that it would never jeopardise the health and wellbeing of any of their patients.

The hospital was sealed recently by the Health Monitoring and Accreditation Agency (HEFAMAA) due to the

fact that three of their expatriate medical personnel were unable to produce their certificate of registration with the Medical and Dental Council (MDCN).

However, the medical facility in a statement issued by the Head of Operations, Dr. Tosan Omaghomi, yesterday explained that they have over 17 doctors in their team all of whom are duly qualified and licenced to practice in Nigeria.

According to the statement, “The expatriate personnel

themselves are all highly qualified with over 20 to 30 years of experience internationally, and all their documents had been endorsed by the Medical authorities in India and elsewhere. Their applications to the MDCN had been submitted before now and, all requirements complied with and were also vetted and endorsed by the Government of India through the Indian High Commission Nigeria.

“Unfortunately, due to

reasons beyond our control, there was some delay in the issuance and procurement of their licence by the MDCN. Since our closure, however, we have worked closely with the MDCN and are pleased to report that with their help and support, as well as that of the Indian High Commission, we have successfully completed the registration of these three expatriate medical personnel and their practising licenses have now been issued.”

Zone APC National Chairmanship to Nasarawa, Party Urged Igbawase Ukumba in Lafia The Nasarawa State Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Dr. John Mamman, yesterday asked the hierarchy of the APC to zone the national championship position of the party to the state.

Mamman made the call at

the endorsement ceremony for Senator Umaru Tanko Al-Makura for the national chairmanship position in the forthcoming national convention of the party, which was organised by a political group, Progressives for Umaru Tanko Al-Makura (PUTA), in Lafia.

The state APC chairman

said: “APC should be fair to the defunct Congress for Progressives Change (CPC), and zone it’s national chairmanship position to Nasarawa State.

He said: “I am not just appealing that the APC national chairmanship position should be zoned to the North Central, but it should be given specifically

to Nasarawa State.”

The convener of the PUTA, Makpa Malla, said the purpose of the gathering the cream of the state politics and indeed the APC family was to openly endorse the candidature of Al-Makura for the position of the national chairman of the party.

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TUESDAY, ΁˜ ͺ͸ͺ͹ ˾ T H I S D AY

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TUESDAYSPORTS

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

0811 181 3083 SMS ONLY

Iheanacho, Ndidi, Iwobi, Seven Others among Early Arrivals as Eagles Assemble in Morocco for Liberia Onuachu, Akpoguma, Ola Aina also in camp as training begins today Duro Ikhazuagbe

Ten players namely, Kelechi Iheanacho, Wilfred Ndidi, Alex Iwobi, Ola Aina, Frank Onyeka and Chidera Ejuke, Daniel Akpeyi, Kevin Akpoguma, Jamilu Collins and Paul Onuachu were on ground when Super Eagles camp in Morocco’s coastal city of Tangier opened yesterday ahead of Saturday’s African qualifier of the 2022 World Cup clash with Liberia.

The Liberians opted for Morocco for the clash after their home ground, Samuel K Doe Stadium was declared unsuitable for international matches.

A win by the Super Eagles on nine points and a drop of point by Cape Verde on seven points in the corresponding group game with Central

African Republic on the island of Mindelo will give the Nigerian side an unassailable lead of the group.

Media Officer of the Super Eagles, Babafemi Raji confirmed to THISDAY from Morocco last night that the coaching crew were expecting full house today for training sessions to begin. “ Amongst the early players to arrive camp here in Morocco include Daniel Akpeyi, Kevin Akpoguma, Jamilu Collins and Paul Onuachu. Others like Kelechi Iheanacho, Wilfred Ndidi, Alex Iwobi, Ola Aina, Frank Onyeka and Chidera Ejuke came into the camp to take the list of early arrivals to 10 players last night.

“The coaches are however very certain that most of the invited players will troop into camp for training to begin on

2 0 2 2 W O R L D C U P Q UA L I F I E R S Tuesday,” observed the team’s spokesman.

Enyimba’s goalkeeper, John Noble was called up on Sunday to replace Francis Uzoho who reported to be unwell for the clash with Liberia’s Lone Star.

Among the players to feature in the clash is Odion Ighalo who made a surprised return to the team he voluntarily retired from two years ago.

If featured, it will be his first match in the Qatar 2022

qualifying series.

The Super Eagles will be attempting what their predecessors: the then Green Eagles did 45 years ago when they picked the ticket for the Montreal Olympics in Tangiers.

INVITED PLAYERS Goalkeepers: Francis Uzoho (replaced by John Noble), Daniel Akpeyi (Kaizer Chiefs, South Africa); Maduka Okoye (Sparta

Rotterdam, The Netherlands) Defenders: Chidozie Awaziem (Alanyaspor FC, Turkey); Kenneth Omeruo (CD Leganes, Spain); Leon Balogun (Glasgow Rangers, Scotland); William Ekong (Watford FC, England); Olaoluwa Aina (Torino FC, Italy); Jamilu Collins (SC Padeborn 07, Germany); Abdullahi Shehu (AC Omonia, Cyprus); Zaidu Sanusi (FC Porto, Portugal); Kevin Akpoguma (TSG Hoffenheim, Germany) Midfielders: Frank Onyeka (Brentford FC, England); Joseph

Ayodele-Aribo (Glasgow Rangers, Scotland); Wilfred Ndidi (Leicester City, England); Alex Iwobi (Everton FC, England); Kelechi Iheanacho (Leicester City, England) Forwards: Ahmed Musa (Fatih Karagumruk, Turkey); Samuel Chukwueze (Villarreal FC, Spain); Victor Osimhen (Napoli FC, Italy); Moses Simon (FC Nantes, France); Paul Onuachu (KRC Genk, Belgium); Chidera Ejuke (CSKA Moscow, Russia); Odion Jude Ighalo (Al-Shabab Riyadh, Saudi Arabia)

Okoye Joins Watford from Sparta Rotterdam Watford have announced the signing of Nigeria goalkeeper Maduka Okoye for an undisclosed fee from Dutch club Sparta Rotterdam.

The five-and-a-half year deal will begin on 1 January, 2022 and run until the end of the 2026-27 season.

However, the 22-year-old will spend the rest of the 2021-22 campaign back with Sparta Rotterdam on a loan deal.

Okoye has made 13 appearances for Nigeria since making his debut in a 1-1 draw with Brazil in 2019.

The 6ft 6in goalkeeper began his career in Germany at Borussia Monchengladbach and

TRANSFER also played for Bayer Leverkusen and Fortuna Dusseldorf before moving to the Dutch Eredivisie side in the summer of 2020.

He won Sparta's Player of the Season award in 2020-21 and helped his side finish eighth in the Dutch top flight.

Watford currently parade two Nigerian internationals William Troost-Ekong and Emmanuel Dennis.

Previously, Odion Ighalo and Isaac Success were on the books of the club with Ighalo in particular almost the status of a legend.

IN

Paul Onuachu...

IN

Kevin Akpoguma...

IN

Daniel Akpeyi...

AFN Performance Director, Okorie, in ‘Team Leaders’ Tour in Oregon Counsels Oduduru, Amusan, others ahead new athletics season

Maduka Okoye...seals permanent move to Watford

Newly appointed Performance Director of the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN), former 400m hurdler, Victor Okorie, has joined the ‘Team Leaders Site Visit’ for tour of facilities in U.S. city of Eugene, Oregon, ahead the 2022 World Athletics Championship.

Okorie, the southeast zonal representative on the AFN board, won series of medals for Nigeria in his active days, including a silver at Abuja 2003 All African Games.

He also won the 400m hurdles at Imo ‘98 and Bauchi 2000 National Sports Festival, and

Icon Hotel Group Commits to Sports Tourism in Nigeria Icon Hotels Nigeria, the new managers of the 174-hectare fivestar Ibom Icon Hotel and Golf Resort in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, have reiterated their commitment to the development of premium hospitality infrastructures to aid the growth of the industry in Nigeria.

Adetope Kayode, the Chief Executive Officer who spoke last weekend at the Nigeria Sports Tourism summit where Ibom Icon Hotel and Golf Resort was inducted into the Nigeria Sports Tourism Hall of Fame, said that Ibom Icon has scored some points in her commitment to the

development of the industry.

“We recognise that the Ibom Icon Hotel is the only five-star facility with such space in the country and the entire West Africa. It is a unique facility with an 18-hole golf championship course. We have equally been channeling our expertise to raise offerings for guests” he said.

Icon Hotels Nigeria took over the management of Ibom Hotels in Uyo after the state government voted for the private partnership as a sustainable way to keep the iconic hospitality facility well managed and profitable.

Kayode further added that

the Icon Group which started off in Kenya with boutique hospitality facilities across the continent now owns a football club in Uyo apart from running tennis competition for kids within the state as part of the their effort at driving growth.

“Sports Tourism is a key driver of the hospitality business, and as operators of one of the continent’s most versatile hospitality brands, it is ingrained within our system to balance the dynamics. We are already developing some sports assets in Nigeria including tennis and football players that we are supporting the exposure of their

talents to scouts in Lagos,” he said.

He added that the Icon Hotel Group is very committed to uphold this tenet of operations across the continent where they have operation bases which includes, Kenya, Tanzania, Republic of Benin and Gambia.

On the induction to the Sports Tourism Hall of Fame, he said the honour justifies the group’s growing investment into the sports tourism space and they will keep working to better their offerings in this direction both for their Nigerian stakeholders and those across the continent.

flew the nation’s flag at 2003 World Athletics Championship held in Paris, France.

Okorie was Middle Tennessee State University 400m hurdles record holder for several years, as well as Sunbelt Conference record holder. He retired with a Personal Best time of 49.19seconds in the 400m hurdles.

Speaking from Los Angeles, California, before connecting a flight to Eugene, Oregon yesterday, Okorie said that the ‘Team Leaders Site Visit’ would enable top athletics officials from different parts of the world to ascertain the level of preparation by the host city for the 2022 World Athletics Championship.

“The city of Eugene, Oregon will host the 2022 World Athletics Championship, and the ‘Team Leaders Site Visit’ is to tour the facilities. Americans will always go for the best in terms of facilities, but there is the need for us to see what is on ground.

I am representing the AFN here,” Okorie said.

The tour of facilities began yesterday and will end tomorrow

(Wednesday).

In a related development, the AFN Performance Director has opened talks with some top U.S- based Nigerian athletes ahead the new athletics season expected to begin in December.

“The new athletics season will commence soon, and there is the need for me to rub minds on some of the things they need to do,” Okorie stressed.

“I have spoken with Ruth Usoro, Yinka Ajayi, Tobi Amusan, Rosemary Chukwuma, Divine Oduduru, Enekwechi Chukwuebuka, Chioma Onyekwere, Annette Echikunwoke, Oyesade Olatoye and Rilwan Alowonle, among others.

“I check on them on a weekly basis to see how their training is going. This new AFN board led by Chief Tonobok Okowa will carry the athletes along in whatever thing we do. We will give them the encouragement they need to get good results.

All we need is the support of Nigerians and the government,” Okorie concluded.

47

TUESDAY, ΁˜ ͺ͸ͺ͹ ˾ T H I S D AY

SPORTS

Xavi Insists on Barca Reform, Gets Messi’s Support Newly appointed manager of Barcelona, Xavi Hernandez has said that his team 'can't accept' draws or defeats, as he gave his first interview since replacing Ronald Koeman as the Catalan

club's new helmsman.

Moments after the former club’s great accepted the job, his former team mate, Lionel Messi, was one of first to wish him the best in the sojourn. The

captain of the team till 2015, is burdened with the task to pull the Barcelona train back on track.

The new boss said that he received a ‘good luck’ text

from Messi but does not regret missing out the chance to coach the six-time Ballon d’or winner.

“Messi, Samuel Eto’o and Ronaldinho would have been good to handle but they are

not here and I have to make good out of where they left.

Messi is a great friend and we cherish the relationship,” he explained.

Koeman was given his marching orders last month following a poor run of results.

Since then, former Barça leftback and Sergi Barjuan has been in temporary charge of first-team matters while a deal for Xavi was hammered out.

Despite some delays due to a disagreement with the Spaniard's former club Al Sadd over his release clause, an agreement was finally reached a few days ago, and Xavi, having arrived in Catalonia from Qatar over the weekend, was presented as the new coach on Monday afternoon.

He joins with Barça in disarray on and off the field. Financial problems are twinned with dramatic underperformance from a playing squad beset by an injury crisis, but Xavi struck an ambitious tone when addressing the media.

"This is the biggest club in the world and I'm going to work hard to reach your expectations.

Barcelona can't accept a draw or a defeat. We have to win all the games," he said.

"I come prepared. My DNA didn't change. We need to take charge, have the ball, create opportunities, be intense. We have a mission to rescue many things that were lost."

One of the ways that Xavi plans to turn the club's fortunes around is by demanding high standards in the dressing room.

"We have to start with new rules that are going to be strict.

It's not a matter of being tough, it's about having norms," he said.

"When we had norms in the locker room things were good, when we didn't, it went bad. So, we need to have order. Being professionals."

"It's a medium to long-term project but we'll need to work really hard to find the results.

The expectation and the demand will be the highest. No excuses will be made or accepted."

Zidane Dismisses Link with Man Utd Job

Barcelona President, Joan Laporta (left) unveiling Xavi Hernandez to fans of the Catalan club as their new manager ...yesterday

Pistorius’ Parole to Start after ‘Restorative Justice’ South African Paralympic athlete Oscar Pistorius, in prison for murdering his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, may soon meet her

parents as part of the process leading to parole being considered, officials say.

He is eligible for possible

Oscar Pistorius...May be released on parole soon

release after having served half his sentence.

But he first has to take part in what is called "restorative justice".

Pistorius shot Steenkamp dead in 2013 saying he mistook her for a burglar at his home in the capital, Pretoria.

The 34-year-old fired four times through a locked toilet door.

In 2014, at the conclusion of a trial that was followed around the world, he was given a fiveyear term for manslaughter. But Pistorius was found guilty of murder on appeal in 2015 and the sentence was later increased to 13 years and five months.

In a statement, South Africa's department of correctional services said it was talking to the Steenkamp family about a possible meeting.

Outlining what needs to happen before parole is considered, the statement says that offenders must "acknowledge and take responsibility for their actions".

As part of the restorative justice process there has to be "an opportunity for parties to reconcile or an apology".

The Steenkamps' lawyer, Tania Koen, told national broadcaster SABCthat they "would like to participate in the victim-offender dialogue".

"June (Steenkamp, Reeva's mother) has always said that she has forgiven Oscar, however that doesn't mean that he mustn't pay for what he has done... Barry

(Steenkamp, Reeva's father) battles with that a bit, but that is something he will have to voice at the appropriate time," Ms Koen added.

"The wound, even though so much time has passed, is still very raw."

Being eligible for parole is not the same as being entitled to it and so it is not a forgone conclusion that he will be released, the lawyer said. The authorities will also have to consider a number of reports written by prison officials as well as other professionals.

There had also been some confusion over when the parole process could begin.

It was widely believed that it would not be until March 2023, but the Steenkamps were "very shocked and quite taken aback" that he was already eligible, Ms Koen said.

The BBC's Pumza Fihlani in Johannesburg says that if granted parole, Pistorius would serve the remainder of his sentence at home and need to report to prison officials regularly.

Prior to the murder, Pistorius had become well known as a Paralympic gold medallist. In 2012, he made history by becoming the first amputee sprinter to compete at the Olympics running on prosthetic "blades".

His legs were amputated below the knee when he was 11 months old because he was born without fibula bones.

Zinedine Zidane not keen on Man Utd job Zinedine Zidane would turn down the chance to replace Ole Gunnar Solskjaer at Manchester United as he is still waiting for the France job to become available.

Solskjaer is under significant pressure at Old Trafford, after a string of disappointing results and performances. October saw his side win just one Premier League game with a 4-2 defeat to out-of-form Leicester City and a 5-0 home humiliation against Liverpool enraging many supporters.

Although Solskjaer insisted that he does not fear the sack following United's most recent disappointment - a 2-0 derby defeat to Manchester City - there have been reports that senior players are growing increasingly unhappy with his leadership.

90min understands that Sir Alex Ferguson is involved in ongoing discussions about Solskjaer's future, with players and coaching staff turning to him for advice.

The Glazers still intend to stick by the Norwegian, although that commitment may be driven by a lack of replacement options.

One of the names that has been linked with the manager's job should Solskjaer get the boot

is Zidane. The Frenchman has been out of work since leaving Real Madrid at the end of last season and despite reports strongly linking him with Juventus this summer, he remains a free agent.

However, according to AS, Zidane would not be interested in taking over in Manchester.

The report described him moving to Old Trafford as 'almost impossible' due to United's less-than-ideal situation, both on and off the pitch.

Zidane is instead said to be holding out for the France job, or failing that, a more attractive club project.

He may not have to wait particularly long for the latter either. Although Les Bleus' boss Didier Deschamps is expected to be in charge for the 2022 World Cup, Massimiliano Allegri is under significant pressure at Juventus following a terrible start to the Serie A season.

The Old Lady already need a minor miracle to secure the Scudetto as they are currently languishing in eight place with just 12 points from 18 games.

They have at least dominated in Europe and currently top Group H in the Champions League with four wins from four.

Tuesday November 9, 2021

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Price: N250

MISSILE Catholic Bishop to Politicians “We need competent Nigerians to emerge as president and governors for us to be where we ought to be. Whoever wants to be Nigeria’s president must be healthy, both in body and in mind. We are tired of a weak president. We shouldn’t allow mediocre to be leading us and if we allow that, then we are in serious trouble” –– Catholic Bishop of Ekiti, Rev. Felix Ajakaye, enjoining Nigerians to elect healthy, credible leaders in 2023.

TUESDAY WITH REUBENABATI 2021 Anambra Governorship Election T abati1990@gmail.com

he recent Governorship election in Anambra state, held on Saturday, November 6, 2021 was meant to be a major turning point for Nigeria. Most commentators said the election would be characterized by violence or that it would amount to a blow-out for Nigeria and the entire South East. Pundits told everyone to be careful. There were permutations about voter turn-out, the preparedness of the electoral umpire, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the character of the main gladiators in the contest and their supportive stakeholders, divided as they were and still are, along religious, ethnic, clannish and party lines. A few days to the 2021 Anambra Governorship election, indeed, every one prepared more or less for war, and bloodshed. The police deployed over 34, 500 personnel, 45 Commissioners of Police,48 ACPs, 2 DIGs, 5 AIGs, 3 Helicopters.

The Civil Defence Corps sent in over 20, 000 men.

The Department of State Security deployed its men and women. The Office of the National Security Adviser announced that any non-state actor who made any attempt to test the will of the state will be met with maximum force.

Previously, the President of Nigeria and Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces, Muhammadu Buhari, had given clear directives to that effect. All of this is understandable. Anambra in the lead up to the election had proven to be a major security challenge, a hotbed of violence and grief, and a key spot for self-determination agitators, operating under the umbrella of the Indigenous Peoples Organisation of Biafra (IPOB) and the Eastern Security Network (ESN). We were faced with a test of wills, between the state and those non-state actors who were seemingly determined to use the November 6 election to humiliate the government of the day, in a spectacular manner.

This was not, to borrow from the rich repertoire of Nigerian English, “a laughing matter”.

I became part of that drama, in spite of myself when the Chairman of Arise News, Nduka Obaigbena decided to team up with the Chairman of Channels TV, John Momoh to do a joint Governorship candidate debate ahead of the election. Meetings were held on both sides and on a certain Wednesday, we were supposed to meet online and do so repeatedly to fine-tune the arrangements. At our end, we held a long meeting which involved policy, management, technical crew and operational persons. Yemi Ajayi, Director, News (Lagos) and I were mandated to meet with the Channels Team later in the day. And we did. Online. It wasn’t a very pleasant meeting.

The Channels Boys rejected every proposal that we made. They decreed that Anambra was too toxic and unsafe and on no condition would they ever risk anything to go there for a debate.

We argued that at Arise, we were determined to go in there to prove that an election was possible and that the security situation could be managed in a way to give confidence to the electorate. We were told to forget it. They gave us the option of a debate to be organized in Lagos or Abuja. Mr. Ajayi and I told them to check with their Chairman. They said they were “the Supreme Council” of Channels TV, and whatever decision they took was final. I found that curious. Then they made matters more complicated by pointing out that they did not want Reuben Abati as the moderator from Arise TV. They would prefer another co-moderator to join Seun Okinbaloye from Channels TV. I was left with no option but to state categorically that long before many of the persons from the other side joined Channels TV, I used to moderate interviews for Channels TV, and analyse elections for the same station and I have letters of appreciation and commendation to show for this, signed by the same Chairman they say has no say in anything decided by a “Supreme Council.” It was also useful to point out that I was the first and only mainstream journalist so far, at that time who had moderated a Governorship Manifesto Defence Debate

INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu

in the Anambra 2021 election. On September 25, 2021, Arise TV had in fact organized a Governorship debate in Anambra State in collaboration with the Kwechiri Unity Forum, aired live on Arise TV, Anambra State Television, and Ogene FM. I was the main anchor. As it turned out, the proposed collaboration with Channels TV, which could have been a phenomenal demonstration of partnership, innovation and the pooling of talents from both sides, in a unique show of solidarity within the Nigerian media, did not happen. Arise TV decided to move ahead. And we did.

During the last weekend of the month of October, leading up to November 1, Arise News deployed personnel and materials to Awka for a Gubernatorial debate involving three of the leading adjudged candidates in the election, chosen across platforms by experts and pundits: Senator Andy Uba of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Professor Charles Soludo of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), and Mr Valentine Ozigbo of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), in that alphabetical order. The debate was held at an undisclosed location, under tight security.

Held in conjunction with a Civil Society Group, Enough is Enough (EiE) led by Yemi Adamolekun, the debate was broadcast live simultaneously on Arise TV, Anambra Broadcasting Service (ABS) and Ogene Radio, 98.3 FM. I was co-moderator of the debate alongside award-winning Arise TV anchor, Ngozi Alaegbu. I understand the debate was successful and memorable, and that is my own modest way of avoiding Agama-lizard-like self-praise.

The three candidates provided both information and drama, exquisite television gold moments, and diverse, controversial feedback that set the tone within the days leading to the election. It was a notable demonstration of how the media can help set agenda, act as a catalyst for nation-building and peace-making, and help generate positive momentum in society. Those who said going to Anambra to do a debate would be suicidal missed the point. The debate was delivered without any untoward incident.

We went into Anambra, with security arrangements provided by the Nigerian Army. Nobody harassed us. Nobody intimidated us. For us, it was the first sign that the election will be held without tragedy and that enough effort had been put into preventing any calamity. In the weeks leading to the election, there had been killings in Anambra, attacks on jails and communities and tension at a higher degree that raised anxiety levels.

Of interest and relevance in this regard is the massive deployment of security personnel, the announcement by the Indigenous People’s Organisation of Biafra (IPOB) that it had suspended its proposed sit-at-home

order originally scheduled for November 5 – 10 across the entire South East. IPOB not only withdrew the order, it became a mobilizing agent urging Ndi Anambra to turn out en masse to vote on November 6. IPOB had the support of traditional rulers, market women, mothers of Anambra, civil society groups.

The Nigeria Police also became an arm of INEC. It placed enlightenment jingles in the media to mobilise voters. On Saturday, November 6, the scheduled election took place – in over 5, 000 polling units, 21 Local Government Areas, with 18 candidates in the race, thousands of election monitors and observers, with the international community watching. There were glitches during the election: late deployment of voting materials, malfunctioning of the Bi-modal Voters Accreditation System (BVAS) - a fingerprint and facial recognition device introduced by INEC to replace the Z-pad, lateness of officials in commencing accreditation, electoral malpractices including vote buying (even if in one polling area, Anambra women openly rejected monetary inducement!), disruptions in some registration areas – Idemili North, Idemili South, Aguata, Anambra West, conflict between Electoral Officer and Collation Officer in Orumba North, and generally a poor voter turn-out of between 10 and 15% in most of the polling units.

The big consolation was that the worst that was expected did not happen. Anambra did not become a killing field. The political parties and the politicians did not engage in bloodshed. Very few incidents of intimidation, violence and ballot snatching were reported. The surprising thing after a fashion is that when everyone writes off Nigeria and there are fears about Nigeria tottering at the edge of the precipice, about to tip over, this country always pulls back.

It has happened before now during every election season. It has just happened again in Anambra state.

The explanation for this must be an interesting subject for sociological inquiry into political behaviour and power negotiation systems. In Anambra: This is what happened - by 12: 20 am on November 8, 2021, the Returning Officer for the Anambra State Gubernatorial Election, Professor Florence Obi, Vice Chancellor of the University of Calabar, had announced results in 20 LGAs. The election in Ihiala LGA did not take place in all 20 Registration Areas due to the outbreak of violence in that border area of Anambra State (the border with Imo State), and on that basis alone, the Anambra Gubernatorial election of November 6, 2021 was declared inconclusive.

INEC has announced a supplementary election in the affected LGA to take place today, Tuesday, November 9, 2021. It would appear as if the election has been lost and won already but it is important that no local government area is excluded, and that nobody is willfully prevented from exercising his or her franchise.

This is the point of the Ihiala Supplementary Election: inclusion, fairness, representation and legitimacy. We do not look forward to any earth-shaking developments in Ihiala LGA today. Still, the security agents must remain vigilant. The political parties and the candidates must keep faith with the peace agreements that they signed ahead of the election: brokered by INEC and also, the National Peace Committee led by General Abdusalami Abubakar. Even with the results from 20 LGAs announced and published by the INEC, which shows the candidate of APGA in a firm leadership position, it would be to the eternal credit of all the candidates involved in the process that they and their supporters gave peace a chance and proved the bookmakers, naysayers and sooth-sayers wrong on Anambra election 2021 till the very last minute.

Already, Professor Charles Soludo of APGA, has been reported as winner in 18 LGAs of the state, including Aguata where he and the two other leading candidates hail from and the strongholds of some prominent politicians in the state – Anaocha, Orumba South, Idemili and Njikoka. Soludo is unlikely to repeat the “21- over-21-feat” of the incumbent Governor Willie Obiano in the 2017 election, but he

is comfortably in the lead with over 50, 000 votes.

Nnewi North was declared for Senator Ifeanyi Ubah (candidate of the YPP- Young Progressives Party) and Ogbaru for Valentine Ozigbo of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP). Soludo has also won the mandatory two thirds of the votes across the local government areas. Ihiala, the only remaining LGA has a registered voter number of about 148, 000.

It will be a battle ground, but with voter turn-out estimated between 10 to 15%, even a 100% turn out may not change the existing reality. Soludo seems set to become the next Governor of Anambra State.

If and when his victory is affirmed by the INEC, he would be the second former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria to emerge as Governor of a State. Before him there was, Clement Nyong Isong (1920 – 2000), Governor of the Central Bank (1967 -1975) and Governor of Cross River State (1979 – 1983).

Soludo, a First Class Honours graduate of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (1984) and Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (2004 – 2009) is a Professor of Economics. He will be a welcome addition to the growing list of Nigerian technocrats who defy the characterization of the political arena as a dirty space that should be left to those who brand themselves as professional politicians, the majority of whom are in actual fact, hustlers, political parasites, national cake hunters and former henchmen and touts who managed to legitimize themselves. The best and the brightest in Nigeria should be the ones to occupy leadership positions, but as we have seen in Mexico, raw intelligence is however, never enough, not even technocratic brilliance is a perfect proposition. For about two decades, technocrats led Mexico substantially: Miguel de la Madrid (1982 -88), Carlos Salinas (1988 – 1994) and Ernesto Zedillo (1994 – 2000). China is another country where the technocratic stereotype holds sway. In Nigeria, we see a growing trend in that direction. I consider technocrats a positive presence in democracy and politics, a country should not be run by dinosaurs and speculators, expertise helps, but technocrats in politics must also have a high dose of emotional intelligence to be able to walk the tightrope of patron-client relationships. The technocratic elite in a political position carries a heavier burden: and if it fails, the regret is double-fold.

However, without prejudice to the eventual outcome of the Anambra Gubernatorial election 2021, given that the responsibility for making an affirmative announcement is that of the electoral commission, whoever becomes the next Governor of Anambra State has his job cut out for him. He must be a bridge-builder and the Governor of everyone.

Anambra is sharply divided along clannish and religious lines. This is one state in Nigeria where it means a lot whether you are Catholic or Anglican or Pentecostal, or what part of the state you hail from. The next Governor of Anambra State must therefore promote unity and consensus. Security is also a major challenge. Anambra is often projected as the headquarters of the separatist IPOB group, and the hotbed of agitations. Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, the head of IPOB, is not even from Anambra. He is from Abia State. But it is the youths of Anambra who are carrying Biafra on their heads like the load of Sisyphus. And you may well argue that Anambra is the spiritual source of the idea of Biafra. The next Governor cannot ignore the security implications.

Roads. Infrastructure. Direct investment, local and foreign. Internally Generated Revenue (IGR). Debt burden. Economic promotion: gas, rice, innovation.

He must hit the ground running.

INEC has been put through the test in Anambra with electronic transmission of results and BVAS. It has lessons to learn. The security agencies have done well so far in managing the Anambra situation. They must not mess up as INEC conducts the supplementary elections today. The Anambra process should be a wake-up call for the South East leadership elite.

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